


Complimentary Colors

by zenkitty555



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Facial Hair Boyfriends, Fixing broken hearts, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Healing, M/M, Magic, No character bashing, Post Civil War drama, Post-Doctor Strange (2016), Romance, Science, Slow Build, Tony needs a good man, Travel, some drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-12-11 10:09:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11712219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenkitty555/pseuds/zenkitty555
Summary: Tony Stark is learning how to let go and live a little after giving his all for so long. Stephen Strange is still trying to balance all of his duties and find some time for himself. When Tony has to give him some bad news, the two start to realize that they may be able to help one another out in a few different ways.





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a few months before as a one shot, but wasn’t satisfied. As I rewrote it, it grew and grew into what it is. It will probably be about 8 or 9 parts. Hope you enjoy.

Doctor Stephen Strange, Master of the New York Sanctum was the sole permanent resident at 177a Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, a neighborhood known for NYU, Washington Square Park, and historically hip enclaves. The area’s mishmash of identities seemed to fit the man he had only met a year before, as Strange was an odd cat and seemed to be on his ninth life. Something about the man made Tony sit up and take notice of him, and it wasn’t the fact that he had been levitating in the air the first time they had met.

After that meeting, Tony had Friday look him up in various systems, curious as to how such a man could live right under their noses in New York. Thanks to old Hydra files, news articles, and various New York socialite blogs, he found his answers and more. There was a lot of information on the former doctor: a straight-A student, brilliant neurosurgeon, car crash victim, and now apparently a sorcerer. 

Stephen Strange was a man of great interest to Tony. There was something simultaneously unpredictable, but also reassuring with the way he presented himself. Even if he didn’t always seem like he knew what he was doing, he gave it his all, and in return earned Tony’s trust when it came to professional matters. Private matters Tony hesitated at, as they had had so few of them so far.

“Doctor Stephen Strange,” Tony mused.

“Yes?” Stephen asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Nothing. Just thinking about how you're not really a doctor anymore. Wouldn’t Sorcerer Stephen Strange be more appropriate?”

The sorcerer hummed, hesitating to answer, and obviously not pleased with being called anything other than doctor. Frankly, Tony had three PhD’s, but he wasn’t going around demanding people call him doctor. He could, and it would be justified, but it was a bit pompous.

“Well, no one says sorcerer like that as a title. You could call me Master Strange, but it would sound odd coming from a non-sorcerer,” Stephen remarked nonchalantly.

“ _Master_ Strange. Isn’t that a little kinky?” Tony joked.

He felt as if they were of a similar ilk, otherwise he wouldn’t have made the joke. Most others would have scolded Tony or rolled their eyes, but Stephen chuckled lightly in response, a glint of agreement in his eyes. It was hard to find someone who could get Tony, or at least wasn’t flummoxed by his sense of humor.

“Only when you say it a certain way,” Stephen teased back.

Shifting from pleasantries, Tony focused on the task at hand. Stephen had stopped by the Avenger’s headquarters at Tony’s request, as Tony had some difficult news to tell the man. It wasn’t really any of his business, except he had been the go between for Ross and Strange a few months back. As Stephen worked outside of the accords, Tony had played negotiator between the pair. While he understood why Stephen wasn’t apart of the agreement, Ross had been on a power trip after his recent involvement in Wakanda. He was out to get Strange and the rest of his ‘kind’ as Ross had put it. The only reason the various agencies of the world hadn’t perused any of the sorcerers was due to the fact they had no way to combat mystical threats, and although the world could believe in aliens, it would have a hard time accepting demonic entities from multidimensional universes. Had Tony not seen it with his own eyes, he probably would have been a naysayer as well. Real magic was still an odd thing to imagine on earth, and he had borne witness to it.

“So why did you want to talk to me today?” Stephen asked.

Tony sighed, “Your evil sorcerer ex-coworker broke out of The Raft last night.”

Cautiously, he pretended to be more interested in the little object open in front of him on the table, a new prototype of communicator, but he was actually watching Stephen’s reaction. It was an unnecessary precaution as Stephen was not paying attention to Tony after he heard the words. Putting his head down and running his gloved hand through his hair, was a much better response than what Tony was expecting. He was bracing himself for fireworks, rage, bitterness; the same kind of backlash as when they put the other sorcerer away. At that time, it had been an even harder sight to watch than he was expecting, as it reminded him of when he fought with Cap, and the raw intensity of watching them brought up old wounds. Although the pair of sorcerers had not come to blows like him and Cap in front of Tony, he could see and understand the heartbreak of it all in their voices and gestures. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for Stephen and knew the pain he must have been in. Although he wasn’t quite sure of their exact relationship, they seemed to be much closer than two former coworkers fighting. The subtle jabs in their chosen words had been too deliberate and borderline intimate in their tone, even if the actual language was superficially bland. Their dynamic had a destructive flavor to it, as if each person knew exactly how to wound the other with their sharp tongues. Unfortunately, it was very intriguing to watch from the monitoring room, and Tony still felt a little guilty about witnessing it. He only rested easy knowing that Stephen had known he would be monitored.

“If only Thano’s forces hadn’t destroyed most of Kamar-Taj and the Sanctum,” Stephen mumbled.

He was talking more to himself than to Tony, but drew Tony's attention to him none the less, and Tony nodded in agreement. If only Thanos hadn’t happened. If only they hadn’t needed to pick up all the pieces of their shattered lives.

The last few years had taken a toll on all of them, and it never quite seemed like there was any period of calm that followed. The only thing that changed was that Tony had stepped back quite a bit from the role he had taken on. He was still spry, but with all of the new additions to the Avengers, he didn’t need to handle things personally as much. For the first time in many years, he was able to breath a sigh of relief; the only good thing to come out of all of it. That and meeting Stephen.

A small part of him felt bad for looking at the good to come out of such an event, and he tried to push it from his mind. He turned back to the file Ross had sent over, not sure if he should show it to Stephen or not. There wasn’t anything new or useful in it. It was mostly filled with pictures and dull transcripts of the very few and boring interactions the prisoner had with the staff of the Raft, often choosing to remain silent or answer in short yes or no answers. It would probably be more upsetting than anything, and upsetting a sorcerer was the last thing he wanted to do, even if they were friendly.

“You’ll be okay?” Tony asked out of concern.

He remembered the days where Rhodey had to distract him from the fall out of the accords the first time. He hoped Stephen had someone like that. Then it came to him that he could be that someone. Even if he knew he should try to stop taking care of everyone, something always compelled him to.

“Of course,” Stephen replied.

His expression said differently, but Tony chose to ignore it. Instead he wanted to turn the conversation back into a light hearted one, or at least one that distracted the man from his problem.

“Tell me Stephen, we’re friends now. Well, friendly anyways, right?” Tony began.

He paused waiting for a response. Stephen looked at him with a curious expression, as if he hadn’t realized this point before. Tony shrugged it off, just in case Stephen didn’t agree with his assessment.

“Yes, we are friends, I guess.”

“So if I asked for a favor, you would consider it?”

Stephen hesitated to answer, but nodded as if it were a given. Internally Tony relaxed a little on hearing this. Although his question wasn’t a serious one, he wanted to test Stephen to understand where they stood.

“Say I needed you to open a portal for me, would you?”

It was one of the things that impressed Tony the most. The idea that someone could just conjure a gateway to somewhere else was exciting. It was mind-blowing that Stephen had that kind of power, and it wasn’t something that had to be physically constructed out of other things for it to happen. It also seemed like something that wasn’t too drastic or difficult, but at the same time was not like opening window.

“Well, opening a portal into a bank vault no, but if you needed to be somewhere fast for a good reason that could be arranged.”

“How about a not so good, but morally sound reason? Like say I want to go see the Aurora Borealis without taking a plane or one of my suits?”

Stephen laughed, not expecting the question. It was silly, but Tony was curious. He knew that Stephen would do something if he thought that he were protecting the Earth, or if someone he cared about were in danger, but something that was frivolous? It was a fun ‘what if’ scenario.

“Yea, sure. Let’s go sight seeing,” Stephen replied, grinning in amusement.

The teasing tone was friendly and soft, affectionate even.

“Tour Guide Stephen Strange. I like the ring to that. Time to ditch that stiff title of Doctor.”

Saying his goodbyes soon after, Stephen smiled awkwardly as he opened a portal in the middle of the room. Tony had relayed his information, and there was no real reason for the sorcerer to stick around, even if Tony hoped he would.

After a few minutes, Tony was left with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t help but think about what happened before their friendly banter about opening portals. The expression on Strange’s face of disappointment mixed with anxiety was hard to look at. Tony thought for a second that he may have been projecting his own history onto Stephen, but for some reason his gut told him that was not the case. Thankfully time had soothed his wounds and although the Avengers were never able to fix everything, at least he could look back on his memories without feeling like he was dying.

Part of him wanted to tell Stephen that it would get better, but he knew it would be a wasted breath. No matter how many times Tony had heard that things wouldn't be so bad in the future and the pain would fade, he didn’t believe it. Instead he had only had managed to keep it together because of Rhodey, but Rhodey hadn’t been able to truly helped Tony in ways that Tony needed to be helped. Although he could trust Rhodey, and Rhodey had always been his rock, Rhodey couldn’t help him to learn to trust others. That took time, the same time that soothed his wounds.

Maybe that’s why he was testing Stephen, to see if he could learn to to trust others again on a more personal, social level. There was something certainly comforting about finding someone who he didn’t have to explain anything to, or order them to do the right thing. Stephen laughed easily and approached things with a little caution, but not too much, and he rarely outright rejected Tony when they were face to face without good reason. It made him feel at ease. So many people had told him no, or tried to discourage him from ideas throughout his whole life, even when they were trying to be supportive, because they assumed they understood Tony. So far Stephen hadn't shown this inclination, and it gave him hope Stephen was different.

For the first time in ages, he felt like things had started to look up, and that he could do this. Tony had tried for so long to keep the paranoia and anxiety from rising up within him and engulfing him in doubt for so long. It was a long road that he had gone down, and if he could help it, he wouldn’t go down it again.

Now if only Tony could keep the nightmares at bay and cut down on his caffeine consumption. He smirked, wondering if Stephen had some potion for that.

Breaking his train of thought, Rhodey entered the conference room a few minutes later.

“What’s got you all in a good mood? Haven’t seen you smile like that in weeks, maybe even months.”

Tony shook his head.

“Nothing much, just the meeting went better than I thought. Strange took it pretty well, or as well as he could considering the circumstances.”

Rhodey rolled in and stopped across from him. He often used his braces, but they were uncomfortable to wear all the time. Frequently when he was at the compound he just used the chair Tony had modified.

“You know, you didn’t have to do that,” Rhodey remarked.

“Of course. Could you imagine it though? Ross and Strange? Strange would wind up sending Ross off into another dimension probably. God, I hate that guy. I should have had Ross talk to him now that I think about it.”

Rhodey laughed and smirked at Tony. They both had a similar opinion of Ross as a person. Although they agreed with the Accords for the most part, Ross was the kind of nonsense they didn’t need.

“Well. I’m sure it was better to hear it from you, but you probably won’t see Strange for a while now.”

Tony leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, put his hands behind his head, and thought about it. It disturbed him to think that he wouldn’t see Stephen for a while, but he had to consider that as a possibility. For all their banter at this point they had no reason to cross paths. Tony had taken himself out of the game, and Stephen had also stepped back from their non-mystical world after Thanos as well. He often politely declined Tony’s invites to social events, and one time Tony had asked for some help, Stephen had sent some novice in his stead. The kid got the job done alright, but it was disappointing that Stephen was so distant. Giving his excuses that he was wrapped up in some epic crisis as a sorcerer, Stephen hadn’t showed his face until the day when he came to the headquarters with the other sorcerer bound with magic and in tow. He looked frazzled as he asked if Tony had a place that could keep the man. Tony actually had been surprised at that time, not so much at the sight, but because wrongly he had assumed Stephen hadn’t answered any of Tony’s calls or messages before out of pride. From that moment, he understood where they stood at least professionally. When Stephen said he was busy, he was actually busy and not trying to blow off Tony.

“Yea, I guess we won’t have anything to do with the good doctor anymore,” Tony eventually responded, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice.

“Can’t say that I’m not relieved. It seems that trouble follows him wherever he goes. Not a bad guy, but some of the stuff we’ve had to deal with since we met him…”

Tony knew that was the opinion of most of the Avengers, the remaining Avengers anyways. Still, he couldn’t help but find himself being drawn to Stephen Strange. The enigmatic sorcerer seemed to have put a spell on him.

\----

Weeks passed and it seemed that Rhodey was right. He hadn’t seen Stephen since the day he had given the man the news about his former sorcerer buddy. Embarrassingly, Tony did find himself dreaming about Stephen when he didn’t have any nightmares. The dreams weren’t anything too serious, mostly dreams of them flying together- Stephen with his cloak and Tony with one of his suits. Tony figured the dreams were probably prompted by their last conversation of sight seeing together. They were silly, like something out of a child's imagination, but they left him feeling good about the day, and he really did feel grateful for the change in his dreams. He was sick of seeing Thanos kill his friends one by one, even if they were only a nightmares and not reality.

Days started to blend together, filled with dull moments that he both welcomed and reviled. He missed the good old days when things seemed simpler and he had actual reasons to worry. Those days contrasted drastically to now where he was playing babysitter to a bunch of bright eyed kids who didn’t know how to check in with him until something big was actually happening. The only one who seemed to understand how things worked was Peter, and that had taken him forever to impress on the kid.

If he were honest with himself, even though he was surrounded by people, he was pretty lonely with Rhodey off in Washington for a few weeks and Happy on vacation for the first time in a decade. The headquarters couldn’t be called quiet, but there was sense of isolation away from the world.

Tony once again found himself thinking about Stephen and their conversation all those weeks ago. On a whim, he decided to give the man a call.

It rang. One, two, thr-

“Hello?”

“Hey Stranger. It’s Tony, calling to see if you wanna do some sight seeing.”

There was a long pause. Tony wasn’t sure if it was because Stephen was considering it, or if Stephen was considering on hanging up on Tony. Either option was probable. Not many people he knew anymore liked to be suddenly asked to hang out. This was also not a simple get together of having a drink at the bar either.

“I guess I could get away for a minute,” Stephen finally replied.

Tony grinned wide in response.

“Great. See you soon?”

"Give me about an hour."

After saying their goodbyes, Tony hung up the phone, thinking about what he should wear.


	2. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Stephen take a trip, have a chat, and Stephen learns he is not an island.

It started with Thor and then continued with the rest of the Avengers. Slowly they were getting sucked into more and more outsider drama much to the chagrin of Wong. Wong warned him about interacting with these groups too much, but Stephen hadn’t listened. It wasn’t that he wanted to disobey Wong, who was now the Sorcerer Supreme, but every time Tony called, he always had a good reason for Stephen to come and help. Stephen tried his best to appease both parties to varying success. Even if it meant that he didn’t go himself when Tony had asked for him.

Now he couldn’t even pretend he was helping anymore. This was pure self-indulgence.

Tony looked up into the sky, his bright white parka reflecting the multi-colored lights above them. People had always said the Northern Lights were a must see before you died, and Stephen would have to agree with them now that he had seen them. He knew Tony had been joking about using a portal to go sightseeing, but the idea had stuck with Stephen. It was better than meeting in New York where prying eyes would be watching. Between Tony’s Avengers and various masters that had been coming and going at the sanctum, it was hard to have a moment of peace, and he truly wanted to get to know Tony without interruptions. Here they were alone, except for the animals lurking in far off distant woods; only their faint sounds alerted Stephen to their presence.

Stephen grinned wide as the other man shivered in the snowy tundra. Although Tony was bundled up, it seemed that he was still really unused to the cold weather. Knowing that he hailed from the land of sun and surf, it reminded Stephen of when he had first moved to New York to attend Columbia. It took him about ten years to get used to the weather, and this was much colder than a typical New York winter.

Stephen wondered if they should have gone to another place, but figured they could go somewhere else the next time, somewhere just as beautiful. Tony would like that, and Stephen would like the company. It was nice to have another regular friend again that wasn’t attached to Kamar-Taj. He had messed up so much with Christine that even now she was still wary to interact with him. It was hard to admit, but although he was well known at one point in his life, he could count the number of his friends and former friends all on his two hands. Even if his acquaintances numbered in the thousands, true friends were hard to find. Stephen knew that he guarded himself a little too much, and that turned off a lot of people.

Stephen’s cloak flapped in the wind slightly as it tried to come in a little closer to Stephen’s tall frame. The cloak managed to block out the cold, along with a spell he had cast so that his body would not be affected by the weather. Sometimes being a sorcerer came with little perks like this, but he didn’t want to scare Tony away with all his magic use. Tony seemed a bit intimidated by all of it, as it was something hard to understand and his first introduction to it had not been a pleasant one.

Standing closer to Tony, he encouraged the cloak to spread itself further to shield both of them. The pesky thing refused, leaving Stephen to pull a little closer to Tony out of concern for the man. When they were touching just ever so lightly, Tony looked up at him with a puzzled expression on his face.

“I didn’t think you would answer my call,” Tony said.

“Well I shouldn’t, but you did help me out with Karl,” Stephen murmured.

He knew that would be his excuse if Wong ever caught him leaving his post like this. It was him returning a favor, despite Stephen getting more from the deal than Tony ever would.

“Yea. Sorry they didn’t do a very good job of keeping him there. Normally they don’t imprison too many sorcerers,” Tony said apologetically.

Stephen shrugged. It had been worth a shot as Kamar-Taj and the Sanctums lacked the facilities to keep the man for now. Soon they would be back up to normal, but that was still weeks away. They did manage to hold him for quite a while.

Tony’s teeth began to chatter from the cold, and Stephen knew it was time to go. As much as he didn’t want the night to end, he took one last look around. His gaze ultimately fell upon Tony’s face for long enough that if Tony were looking at him, he may have deemed it creepy. Thankful, he was too preoccupied with his surroundings to notice Stephen. In all honesty, even though the nature was beautiful, Tony was the more enrapturing sight at the moment. He seemed to sparkle with wonder.

Shortly after, Stephen opened a portal up into the Avengers headquarters, and motioned for Tony to step through.

“I’m glad we did this,” Stephen murmured, standing close to Tony.

“It would be great to meet more often. Every time I ask if you want to join us, you just shoot me down, but we could really use a man like you.”

Stephen smiled sadly and wondered if he was just a business asset to Tony.

“You know I shouldn’t even be helping you as much as I am now. I wish it were different, but it is what it is. There are some rules even I’m not tempted to bend.”

“Yea.”

It had to be this way, otherwise he was sure that he would be dragged into the governmental bureaucracy that engulfed the Avengers. Not to mention that he didn’t want to incur the wrath of Wong, who would just stare at him blankly, frowning. Somehow it was more effective than raging at Stephen. He hated that look most of all, and he was pretty sure Wong knew it too.

He and Tony looked at one another as Tony swayed on his feet, his upper body coming a little closer to Stephen. Stephen felt conflicted by the mixed signals he was getting from Tony. Surely if Tony Stark really wanted someone he would just go for it, rejection be damned. Then again, they weren’t young men anymore, and there was a lot more at stake having to often come in contact with one another in order to protect the world, their universe, and their reality. This was not a typical budding office romance, and Stephen didn't want to risk it either.

Stephen smiled sadly at the realization that he had traded his fear of failure in his professional life with a fear of failure in his private life.

“Look, I need to get going back,” Stephen ventured, his voice filled with hesitation.

He didn't want to be going. Really, he wanted a night, only one night to himself for once, but he knew that would be impossible. Even stealing these few hours wasn’t the best idea. The sanctum was empty, unprotected, and that made him feel guilty.

“What, no good night kiss?” Tony protested.

Stephen’s eyebrows shot up for a fraction of a second, surprised at the sudden words of encouragement. It was an unexpected, but a welcomed move. He smiled as he dipped down enough to meet Tony’s mouth, the kiss sweet and tender. It was a pleasant surprise; he thought Tony would be more demanding.

When their kiss ended, Stephen reluctantly made a portal into his sanctum and nodded at Tony before stepping through it. His mind replayed the night as he walked up the stairs, through the halls, and to his room.

As he wound down for the rest of the night, he checked his phone every few minutes for  messages. Normally he only had one or two once in a blue moon, but it still was useful to have a phone just in case situations arose. Sometimes he even got a message from Christine, when she was talking to him.

It was silly, but he felt satisfied when he received an alert that he had received a new message. He breathed a sigh of relief.

_-Good night. Sweet dreams._

He thought about responding for a second. Long ago he would have just looked at it and not replied, even if he had been interested in the person. Now he knew what it was like when someone he cared for just disappeared without response. He couldn’t bring himself to do that to another person again. Heartbreak really changes a person, and Stephen Strange had changed quite a bit ever since his car crash.

Sighing, he hoped he didn’t come off as cheesy or desperate as he responded.

_Until next time.-_

He wasn’t even sure anymore if it was a decent or effective response, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. It was bad enough that he had revealed as much of himself as he had over the night.

Splaying out over his large bed, he considered what he was getting himself into.

Over the next few days he tried to keep his thoughts focused on his daily tasks to varying degrees of success as Tony and him played this game of will they, won’t they. Tony had been texting him every so often with messages of nothing, and Stephen responded back with the like. It was stupid and childish, like he was a college student again. Only when he was in college, he lacked the sense to be so reserved with his language. 

He was a weak man now- starved for affection, lonely from the years of the study and practice in sorcery. The memories of touching another human being like he had briefly touched Tony that night had faded into numb recollections, catalogued away with the others, like tales from a book. 

Catching himself thinking too much about the the past, he tried to refocus on the text in front of him, but it was of no use. Still, he trudged on until he heard the doorbell faintly ringing.

Going down the stairs, his cloak flew to him. It was always the ever faithful watchdog, very protective of Stephen, and he could sense it bristle as he opened the door, ready for action at a moment's notice. For some reason it always thought a knock or a ring of the doorbell was a sign of imminent danger, but once again it was nothing of the sort, much like the numerous times before. Very few dangerous beings rang doorbells or knocked. However, Stephen couldn't get annoyed, as the cloak often brought him great comfort, reminding him that he wasn’t totally alone.

When he opened the door, Tony Stark stood in front of him, wearing sunglasses and a lighter winter jacket than the white one he saw him in last time. It was more fitting for the late fall weather.

Stephen stepped aside, letting him in, and noticed that he carried a brown grocery bag in his hand. Looking around, Tony didn’t meet his gaze as he spoke. It was his second time to the sanctum, but it had not been in good shape the last time he had come.

“Nice. Like what you did with the place. Where did you get all the stuff from? The Renaissance section of the Met?”

He was probably referring to the tapestries on the walls. It was a bit old fashioned, but it gave the place character.

“I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Yea well, I was in the area. It’s lunch time, so I figured I’d pick us up something,” Tony said taking off his sunglasses.

He looked weary and worn; gone was the wonder in his eyes from that night. Stephen could tell something weighed heavily on him.

“Let’s go to the kitchen. I’m afraid the dining room hasn’t been used in decades,” Stephen urged.

Tony laughed at that, but it wasn’t a joke. Stephen really thought it hadn’t been used in decades or cleaned in years. There also was little incentive to start now, as there were never so many in the house at one time that it would require a dining room.

They went down the stairs into the kitchen, and Stephen put the kettle on. Tony probably didn’t drink tea, but he had some instant coffee hidden somewhere. Stephen knew that although Tony may not like it, it would be at least something he could offer. He would hate for the man to think him rude.

“What’s for lunch?” Stephen asked.

“Gyros and the like. I don’t know. I just got it from a place down the street that smelled good.”

Tony sat at the table taking the aluminum containers and plastic utensils out of the bag. Relaxing into the chair, Tony watched him as he fixed Tony a cup of coffee and poured himself some tea, trying not to spill the water. He hated showing how much his hands shook, but Tony didn’t even notice as he was more fixated on the food or the decor that surrounded them.

“What really brings you here today?” Stephen asked sitting at the table.

Grinning, Tony took the coffee, smelling it before taking a sip. He politely pushed it to the side as Stephen drank his tea. The food laid untouched on the table.

“I keep thinking about the other night. Figured I’d try to return the favor.”

Stephen smiled sadly.

“It was my pleasure, and you’ve done too many favors for me already.”

“Really? You like playing tour guide?”

“Sometimes we need a break from reality,” Stephen replied.

“We’ll have to do it again.”

Brown eyes met blue, serious and with affection behind them. Stephen felt his heart skip a beat.

“Everest. I want to take you to Everest,” Stephen ventured softly.

“Another cold place? Do you want to turn me into a popsicle?”

He shook his head. Although he wouldn’t mind running his tongue over Tony’s body, it wasn’t quite the reason why he kept suggesting cold places.

“It’s probably a place you haven’t visited before. You want a tour guide, but unfortunately I would fail in that respect. I only know Kamar-Taj, Everest, and the inside of hotel rooms in various cities. Out of the three, I guess Everest is the better choice. It's the most violently beautiful place that masks itself in serenity. You literally can’t breath, and the best part is that when you open a portal back to wherever you came from you suddenly have an appreciation for all those small things you’ve taken for granted.”

“Like breathing?”

Stephen rested his head against the wall, closing his eyes for a second before opening them again. It was good to know he hadn’t lost all of his game, as Tony was staring him intently. He grinned wide like the Chesire Cat.

“Like the people standing in front of you, humanity, and humility.”

Tony looked impressed at his answer, and Stephen tried not to let his heartache seep through into his tone. He really missed that time, even though he remembered how impatient and frustrated he had been with his progress. That day, as he warmed up from his unexpected trip to Everest, was the first time he felt that he had people that cared for him since his own family had died. The Ancient One had pushed him, and Karl had been there to pick up his sorry carcass from the ground.

Months later when that feeling had dissipated with both of his mentors gone, he understood how precious that time had been. Now he was reborn from their figurative ashes as Doctor Stephen Strange, Master of the New York Sanctum. It had been a very difficult path, but exponentially rewarding.

“Hey, hey. What’s wrong?” Tony said, interrupting his thoughts.

Stephen hesitated for a moment, realizing that even if his tone had been steady, his face must have said it all.

Ignoring the question presented to him, Stephen took the meals Tony had placed in the middle of the table, took off the plastic covers, and they began to eat. It was good to not have to make food, and he felt grateful for the other man’s act of kindness. Stephen wasn’t quite sure if he really was in the area before, but he also wasn’t about to protest.

“So magic man, when are you going to sweep me off my feet?” Tony teased.

Stephen smiled. That was the million dollar question. When would he find time? It wasn’t as if he were currently busy, but he knew that anything could happen at a moment's notice. He had to be ready.

“I’ll give you a call.”

“I see how it is. Trying to give me the cold shoulder now that I’ve brought you some food. Afraid we’re moving too fast here?”

Actually, they had been moving way too slow for Stephen’s taste, but he didn’t want to dive in head first like he normally did. Tony didn’t deserve that, and he needed to guard his heart a little more careful than the last time he had accidentally given it away.

“If I gave you the could shoulder, you would know it. Believe me.”

They finished their lunch talking about nothing of consequence. It had been refreshing to hash out non-work related thoughts over the table for once. When Wong or others had paid him a visit it was always about something to do with relics, or spells, or the newest threat coming from whatever being or entity. With Tony it was easy to make small talk, laugh, and enjoy a few minutes of connecting with another human being. Tony seemed like he needed it as well.

When he showed Tony out after they had finished, he promised to make some time for them soon, although he wasn’t sure he would bring Tony to Everest now. It seemed he really didn’t like the cold, and Stephen couldn’t trust himself emotionally to go back there after he had given more thought about it. It was such a silly thought, but the statement had been made in earnest. He wanted to share parts of his life with the man even if he didn't want to talk about them.

Before Tony left, Stephen gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, to which Tony responded by turning his head so they could actually kiss- parting their lips with tongue meeting tongue.

It was over quicker than either would like, but Stephen had things to do, and if they hadn’t stopped at that moment, Stephen didn’t know if he would be able to. Tony also seemed to be busy wrangling his Avengers-in-training, and they parted without much protest. The sound of Stephen’s resign sigh only passed his lips as the doors closed. His heart all at once heavy and light.

As he shut the door and turned, he saw Wong standing at the top of the stairs. He must have come as they were finishing up, and Stephen headed back up the stairs, following the man into the study. It was an unexpected visit. Normally Wong sent word before he dropped by, and the timing was odd.

Wong put some papers on his desk, and lazily sat in the chair across from Stephen’s. It was an ominous sign, as normally he would just stand about, and they would have a short chat. His expression was dour, and he looked at Stephen seriously. Stephen felt that he was some how in trouble for something. Then again, he often got that feeling when Wong stopped by unexpectedly, like a supervisor coming to critique their employee. It wasn’t as though Wong wasn’t friendly with him, it was just that there was that delicate line drawn in the sand. It was something left over from his days as the stern librarian and Stephen the irritating bookworm know-it-all. Stephen didn’t know if or when he may overstep said line. It almost seemed inevitable with his personality.

However, there were moments where the two did connect and were candid, so he wasn’t totally unnerved by Wong's appearance. Those moments though were not normally in the middle of the day, so Stephen knew whatever he was here about was important.

“Stark? Are you helping the Avengers again?” Wong asked disapprovingly.

“No,” Stephen hesitated a moment, realizing that the man only caught the tail end of his and Tony’s goodbye. ”It was a personal visit.”

Wong looked at him and considered Stephen’s answer. He was still the hardest man to read on the earth for Stephen; his stoic countenance almost never wavered. As he thought about this, Wong smirked at him suddenly. Stephen realized his face was much hotter than before. He felt a pupil caught making out under the bleachers with the star of the track team.

“Well it’s good to see that you’re adjusting. Most others never seemed to quite figure out the balance. I know you’ve had a hard time after Hong Kong.”

Surprised by Wong’s words, he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. They almost never talked about Hong Kong.

“I was afraid you would disapprove.”

“Why would I do that? As long as you're not risking your life for some trivial matter, it’s none of my business who you invite over here. Stephen, we are not islands. Even the Ancient One understood that we cannot sequester ourselves off from reality. Those who do often do not last long.”

This was the first time he was hearing this kind of thing from Wong. Granted they hadn’t really had too many heart to hearts after her death, as there had always been some new problem, but it would have been nice to have known earlier.

“I must admit I’ve been pressed for time and manpower, but if you wish to have an evening to yourself, that could be arranged. I can send one of the other masters or an advanced disciple to watch the Sanctum for a few hours.”

Stephen tried to keep the surprise off of his face. He had no idea about this type of system during his whole time as master, and although he didn’t really have anyone to spend time with until recently, he thought there should be a manual or something about how to be a master at a sanctum. Part of him also kicked himself for not asking about it before. He had been so focused on his studies for so long.

“Yes. I think I would like an evening to myself. It’s been a while.”

Wong nodded folding his arms.

“Enjoy these days Stephen. They don’t come often. I know that it’s been quite difficult for everyone to adjust to the changes, but things will work themselves out eventually. Why, when I first came to Kamar-Taj, it was nearly the same as it is now.”

Stephen listened patiently, knowing that there was something else that he had come about.

“That was then though, when we had more masters than students. Now it is the opposite,” he paused for a second, “Then there is Karl.”

Karl- There it was; the reason why he came. Stephen had written to him about that not too long ago. It was hard to justify coming to see Stephen when they had no information, so Wong much have gained some intel during the period they had last seen one another.

“Yes… There is Karl,” Stephen repeated absentmindedly.

“He’s been spotted in the Americas a few times. People leaving stories of a mysterious man who suddenly immobilizes others, most of them winding up in comas. This time non-sorcerer's and mostly concentrated in the northern parts of the States and in Canada, but once or twice in Central America as well.”

He internally groaned at the information. It was hard to take, even though so much time had past. There still was a lingering feeling of responsibility for all of it. Had he not opened his mouth about the Ancient One that day, or if he had only gone after the man, or if he had time to explain about everything, it would have saved them a lot of time, heartache, and lives. Now it was just a tragedy that things had turned out this way. It seemed as though Karl would never stop. 

“You will be fine, right?” Wong asked.

Stephen nodded, as he knew Wong worried about him more than most. He would get on finding Karl as quickly as possible, but it would not be simple to track him down. For all the encouraging words earlier in their conversation, it looked like it was going to be another time filled with strife. Even if they were less busy, it would not be an easy task to find the other sorcerer. Karl knew how to hide and use his knowledge to the utmost efficiency most of the time. He was a formidable opponent.

Eventually, after discussing some other, lesser matters, Wong left with a promise that he would send another master or apprentice soon to give Stephen a night off. Stephen sat there and wondered what kind of night it would be, as another threat lurked in the shadows of his mind. Still, he was not a fool and would take it gladly. At least he would have something to look forward to, and he knew exactly who he wanted to spend it with.


	3. The Trip

Stephen was playing hard to get once again. It was kind of silly with all his chaste kisses and stolen glances when they were together in New York. Outside of New York, things were fine; Stephen became bolder in his actions. It was like something prevented him from relaxing once he was in the tri-state area.

Tony rolled his eyes when he thought about it. Granted, he was not being his normal forward self either. After his and Pepper’s relationship fizzled out once again, he figured he wouldn’t jump head first into anything else for a while. Only with Stephen, he felt relaxed, amused, and overall comforted by the man’s presence. He felt good for the first time in a long time. Quite a few of life's pressures dissipated when they were together.

“Oh great, revered Sorcerer Strange, what can you tell me about my future?” Tony asked over lunch.

The menu for the day was take-out from a place near the old Avenger’s tower. A place that did halfway decent take-out sushi. It wasn’t his normal fare for lunch, but Stephen had requested it. Apparently, the place was near where he used to live, and both of them had tried it before. After talking about it and checking up on it, they were both surprised it was still there.

It was funny thinking about all those little commonalities they were able to find when they started talking about their individual experiences. They probably had passed each other on the street before. Maybe they had even dined in the same restaurants without even knowing or attended the same functions.

“I am not a seer,” Stephen groaned before adding rather cheekily, “Although I can see you dropping by on the weekend with some good Pho.”

Tony laughed as Stephen raised his brow a few times prompting Tony to consider the idea.

“Here I am, Tony’s personal delivery service. Dearest Mom would be so touched how far I’ve come in life.”

“You know you like it. Besides, you have already designated me as a tour guide, so I’m just paying you back.”

Sometimes it was amazing how Stephen managed to make him want to do these things. He had long assumed that all his generosity had been spent over the last ten years. At the same time, Tony was compensated tenfold by Stephen in other ways.

This routine they had going started the week after they had those Gyros. Stephen managed to escape for a few hours one night and they had gone to Chesapeake Bay of all places. Tony thought it was an odd choice, but when they got there he could understand. They watched the waves together under the moonlight, enjoying some local crab. It had been an experience that he had never had before in his life. California was not the same and there was no way he’d find a place like that in New York or in any of his travels. He was so used to being places he could be seen, but every place he and Stephen had gone together had been an escape. Being surrounded by silence was a welcomed change. 

Taking time to breath in the cold air coming off the sea, they laughed about stupid things and got into a heated discussions about the best music of each decade without any worries in the world. This was Tony living for himself now.

That night, Tony had learned so much about the former surgeon. Things like where he was from and what brought him to New York. Even though Tony didn’t share anything serious about himself, Stephen didn’t press him, even if he showed interest. It was refreshing. They didn’t talk shop much either. Not that either one of them would really understand some of the stuff they got up to. A few times Stephen went off about something that Tony thought was just weird, talking about entities in different universes. Tony was pretty sure Stephen didn’t really care to learn about his suits or what the Avengers were up to either, so he let Stephen ramble. They spent the night like that until it was nearly the break of dawn, with Stephen protesting he didn’t meant to keep them out so late, and that he wished they had more time.

Tony felt like a young man again; only it was so much more gratifying on so many more levels. There wasn’t any rush to do anything. He lacked the anxious need to keep moving at a quick pace, wanting to stay in the moment. Stephen too had been reluctant to move on at a hurried pace.

Back in New York it was different though, as if they were stealing time.

Stephen interrupted his thoughts by speaking after a long silence, “So, um... I was thinking that if you have some time, let’s go to Concord this weekend. Nothing too big, just an overnight trip.”

His voice was soft and filled with hesitation.

Tony sat up straight from where he was slightly bent over his sushi. It was a surprising, but welcomed request. He thought it was odd that the man wanted to go to Concord of all places, but he figured Stephen had his reasons, whatever they may be. Chesapeake Bay had been a pleasant surprise, and Tony figured he had nothing to lose by saying yes.

“That sounds great. So do we take a car or just portal all the way?”

Stephen went a little white at the suggestion of taking a car; it seemed like he still had a hang up about driving.

“Portals, unless you want to waste time traveling. We won’t be bringing anything with us, except maybe a change of clothes.”

“Really? Only a change of clothes? How disappointing,” Tony teased.

Stephen’s face went a little pink as he smiled coyly, “Maybe not only a change of clothes.”

“Sounds like a date then.”

“Yea, a date,” Stephen repeated absentmindedly.

Tony helped clean up after they finished eating. Thankfully, unlike other areas of the sanctum, the kitchen was the least magical of them all. Tony felt comfortable in the kitchen with its homely touches.

As they went up the stairs, someone called Stephen from inside of the house, and Stephen went to meet them. Tony lagged behind, as he needed to use the restroom before he left. Normally when Tony visited it had been quiet, but he knew that there were no real set lunch or dinner times for the sorcerer. Sometimes things happened at a moment's notice. They had already canceled on each other a few times already as well, always rescheduling for the next day. Stephen was busy, but he was too.

Tony went to let himself out after using the restroom, but found Stephen in the foyer with his guest. Whatever the woman had been talking about must have been serious as Stephen’s expression was grave. She touched his arm lightly before heading off into some other part of the house.

It was an odd building with doorways and windows to places that Tony couldn’t even fathom. One time Stephen had showed him how he could even change the destination of one of the window panels at the end of a long corridor. It had been shocking enough to see a window that reflected a rainforest, but having it change at the touch of a hand was mystifying.

The place was weird, mysterious, and gave Tony the creeps. Frankly he was glad that they would be getting away soon. They didn’t need the reminder of Stephen’s job looming around them, and Tony wasn’t sure something wasn’t watching them. It was probably one of the reasons Stephen never seemed to fully relax around Tony when he visited.

“You okay?” Tony asked.

“Just more disappointing news. You know how it goes.”

Tony looked up into Stephen’s face. The man started to look the way Tony had felt years before, when nothing seemed to be going well. Stressed, tired, pensive- Stephen wasn’t the same person he was having lunch with minutes earlier. His age was etched into face, made harsher by the dimly lit room. The gray in his hair was more prominent than ever.

Tony took a step forward and touched the side of one of the sorcerers arms.

“Whatever it is. It’s not on you.”

It had taken him a long time to learn that lesson. Although people had always told him that, it took a long time to realize that hard fact. Sure, some things he had to take direct responsibility for, like the kids, but beyond that he couldn't take on all of the world's problems. Maybe he still hadn’t fully learned that lesson, but he was trying his best. In that, he had learned to be at peace most of the time.

“No, it’s not on me. Well, not really. But watching someone you care about descend into fanaticism is…”

He stopped, and all Tony could do was look at him seriously for a moment. He brought his hands up to Stephen’s face before lightly kissing him on the cheek. He pulled the man into an embrace, the closest they had been to one another since that night on the coast when they huddled together in the cold breeze.

When Tony let go and stepped back, Stephen smiled sadly at him. Tony leaned over once again to press a kiss to his mouth, and Stephen allowed him to deepen it.

Their height difference made it so that Tony had to tilt his head up a little to make contact, and it added to the intoxicating feeling running through his veins. Sliding his tongue against the other man’s, Stephen groaned. Tony could tell he wanted more.

When they pulled away, Tony’s gaze focused on the the soft, now slightly reddened peaks of Stephen’s lips, still somewhat parted. The feelings that Tony felt were reflected in the sorcerer’s eyes. God, did he feel good about everything, forgetting about Stephen’s problem for a moment.

Then Stephen sighed.

“You need to go now. If not, I’m going to forget my position and take you upstairs right now. And I can’t believe I am saying this, but I would like wait till this weekend,” Stephen responded, his voice dripping with arousal.

“You really like to play hard to get don’t you?”

“Only when it’s to my advantage.”

Tony smirked, running his hands down the front of Stephen’s robes. The other man could be infuriating with his mysterious act.

As he dropped his hands to his side and shoved them in his pockets, he turned to leave. He gave a nod of his head to say goodbye before going, knowing that Stephen would appreciate the small touch of dramatics he was capable of.

It had been a good lunch, but the next time he was going to have to ask Stephen to open a portal for him, not looking forward to the traffic as he headed back upstate. This time he had some business before meeting Stephen, but it was tiresome to keep driving in and out. For a brief moment he regretted selling Stark Tower.

When he got into the car, Happy watched him, probably trying to get a read on Tony’s mood. It wasn’t like Tony’s being in a relationship was a secret, even if almost no one dared to mention it yet. They all knew, although most of them didn’t know with whom. Rhodey figured it out pretty fast, even though he hadn’t said anything too direct yet. He had a very smooth way of dealing with Tony’s romantic entanglements, this time by just asking, ‘So, Strange? That’s who you're going with now?’ before dropping the subject. It had been slightly judgemental in tone, but Tony had done the same to him multiple times before. They cared about one another and it was understood that’s all it was. There was no actual judgement on Stephen.

He knew that Happy though was waiting till the right moment. Tony knew the man still had an attachment to Pepper and Tony getting together with all of their drama. Happy had been caught in the middle, and he had been rooting for them, even though that ship had long sailed. Pepper and him still kind of, sort of got along, but they were never going to work out. Happy and the rest of them needed to come to terms with that.

“So are we going to do this every week now?” Happy asked, an edge of hostility to his voice.

And all Tony could think was ‘here it comes’.

“Well, maybe not forever, but occasionally. This weekend I’m going up to Concord, but the car won’t be needed.”

“What do you mean you won’t need the car? Are you taking the jet? Does Concord even have an airport?”

Tony hummed a bit, checking his phone’s messages: some from Peter, Carol was going on about something, one from Rhode asking if they were still on for Thursday, and a few emails from Pepper about the company. It was business as usual.

“Something like that. Don’t worry. I’ll need you to hold some things down for me while I’m gone.”

“You're talking about the kids aren’t you?”

“Kids? No, just one kid. Peter can keep the rest of them in line.’

Happy groaned, still irritated by the way Peter did things despite the young man maturing quite a bit over the past few years.

Taking off his glasses and shutting his eyes, it was a hint that Tony wasn’t going to discuss things anymore. Even if Happy was irritated, he knew there was no point in pressing Tony now, and Tony knew once he got around to properly meeting Stephen, things would ease up. It was why he kept Happy around. He was family like Rhodey.

As they exited off of the Henry Hudson Parkway and headed towards the George Washington Bridge, Tony focused on the soothing motions of the car and his lunch with Stephen.

He was beginning to care more and more about the man, seeing himself reflected in Stephen. At the same time Stephen was quite different, softer than he could be in some ways, but also colder. Tony was used to putting himself out there and getting hurt, but he could tell Stephen was not. In his constant efforts to guard himself, Stephen left Tony intrigued and wanting to know more every time they met.

Thinking about it, Tony was very much looking forward to their weekend. Again Stephen had picked a place he was unfamiliar with, and from the sound of it, what had happened between them earlier in the foyer was just a taste of what was to come on the weekend. It had been a long time since he had sex, the appeal of casual hook-ups waning quite a few years before. From the look and sound of it, Stephen had been the same.

When Tony got back to the compound, he managed to keep focused on his work, riding on the good feelings left over from lunch. He spent a lot of the remaining day and evening tinkering with designs and systems, barely noticing the time. Only when the notification light on his phone started blinking did he pull away from his work.

_-Sat- 5pm._

_See you then. Sleep well.-_

_-You, too babe._

Tony was a bit surprised at the pet name, but he didn’t dislike it. It was better than some others he had received in his lifetime, and he spent the rest of the night with a smile plastered on his face. Sometimes it was surprising how little things still made him quite happy.

\----

Saturday didn’t come soon enough. Although it had only been 3 days since he last saw Stephen, it felt like a lot longer. There had been so many different problems and irritating situations that had arisen in the past few days that Tony had been worried he may have had to cancel on Stephen, something he had wanted to avoid at all costs. He also worried that Stephen would cancel, a nagging voice in the back of his head reminding him about the kind of work he did. It was almost eerie when neither of them canceled, and Stephen showed up at 5 on the dot, dressed incognito in a turtleneck, a lined pea coat, and fitted slacks. The man was even more striking in regular clothes if that were possible. Tony tried to dress casual, but he felt maybe a little too casual with his normal band shirt, jacket, and jeans. Throwing on his another light jacket, he looked at Stephen.

“Concord, here we come,” Tony said when he realized he had been staring too long.

The fall foliage had fallen from the trees by this point, but it would still have a nice atmosphere. Tony had faith that Stephen could pick places by this point.

“Well, I may have neglected to mention, I have a small stop to make before we head to where we are going,” Stephen said with some hesitation.

Tony frowned a little before catching it, forcing himself to smile politely. It was not something he had been expecting, but he would try to roll with it.

“It won’t take long. I just have to visit someone at a hospital. Maybe an hour at most.”

Tony’s expression softened as he heard this.

“Oh, well if that’s all. You had me worried for a minute. Figured you were going to go off and battle your Door Mamma or whatever.”

Stephen blinked a few times before chuckling.

“Dormmamu. Yes, I will have to remember that one,” he responded with a huge grin.

After a few seconds, he opened up a portal, and they were at a hospital in Massachusetts according to the sign outside. It looked like a normal hospital, nothing too weird about it.

Stephen led the way as they snaked through the hallways of the building. It didn’t seem like a place that Stephen would need to go, unless one of his old doctor friends worked there. He highly doubted it though, as it was just a small local hospital and Stephen had seemed like a big deal in his past life. Stephen didn’t sound like he was the type to make friends with a small town doctor.

When they got to where they were going, Stephen stopped and waited at the door of a patient's room. Inside was a woman, probably in her mid-40s, sleeping in a bed. She looked peaceful, but obviously sick as her skin had a waxy pale complexion to it. Stephen went over to her side, checking her vitals and observing her state. He concentrated for a second before bringing his hands up, doing that thing with his fingers before he started to move his hands around. The woman’s body glowed for a minute before the light dissipated, and it felt like a cool breeze had come through the room. Tony noticed the window was closed and figured it was the magic.

Stephen frowned before mumbling to himself, “Just as I feared. I had hoped otherwise.”

Tony watched him as he pondered the woman in front of him. The scene was odd.

“What is it? What happened to her?” Tony asked.

Normally he wouldn’t try to prod, but there was something completely wrong with what he had just witnessed.

“Do you know about Chakras?” Stephen asked.

Tony tried to keep the look of skepticism off of his face unsuccessfully.

“Yea, yea, I get it. I felt the same until I started doing this. Anyways, this is kind of like the concept of Chakras, but a little different. There are natural energies contained in the body, but one of hers has been removed.”

Tony could guess by who.

“Your friend graduated from the small stuff to the big stuff?”

Stephen shook his head, “No. This is what makes it more perplexing. He’s going backwards I think. I don’t really know yet, as this is not magic that I have come across in my studies yet. It’s specialized and feels old.”

Tony looked at the woman, “She’s not going to wake up is she.”

Stephen looked at him, and they both knew he didn’t need to answer.

As they turned to leave, Tony contemplated what he just saw and heard. It was all very depressing, and he reached out to Stephen, hooking his hand around the man's forearm in a comforting manner. Stephen gave him a half-hearted smile to reassure him as they exited the building, and Tony couldn't help but feel things were going to get complicated.


	4. The Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Stephen and Tony take the next step in their relationship, and things start to get a little more complicated between the two as Stephen reveals a little more of himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 100% NSFW. ;)

Stephen had been nervous when he took Tony to the hospital, not knowing what the man would think or what they would find. The trip really served two purposes: the first one was to see what Stephen was dealing with in regards to Karl’s new venture, and the second was to have some time alone with Tony.

Wong had sent someone to keep watch over the New York Sanctum, and was mostly understanding of Stephen’s desire to have some time to himself. He had warned Stephen not to become distracted, and Stephen knew that he shouldn’t push his luck too much after this trip, as Wong was a strict taskmaster.

After they had finished their visit with Ms. Dunbar, they went outside near some bushes where Stephen opened a portal to their next destination, a little Bed and Breakfast on the outskirts of town.

As they stepped out of the portal, they faced a house that Stephen had seen on the internet when he booked the place. The B&B, converted from a pre-colonial farm house, was one of the last remaining m structures in the town from that period, or so he had read on their website. It was quant, even though it would probably be fully booked with weekend travelers, as it housed less than a dozen rooms.

Stephen smiled at Tony, who was still holding on to his forearm. It felt good to have Tony next to him, especially after their visit to the hospital. Stephen had been quite shaken by his findings concerning Ms. Dunbar, who was now in seemingly irreversible vegetative state. He felt partially responsible.

“Is this the place? Not bad. Not normally my style, but,” Tony said before trailing off.

“Yes, one of the oldest ones in the city.”

It was also one of the few places there was a confirmed sighting of Karl around the time of Ms. Dunbar’s sudden decline in quality of life.

Tony let go of Stephen as they walked up to the porch and opened the door into the tiny parlour serving as an reception area. In front of them, there was a small desk and cabinet with guest keys hanging in the cubbies. Behind the desk sat a short, plump, slightly balding middle aged man, whose chestnut brown eyes went wide when he saw the pair.

“Hi, I have a reservation under Stephen Sanders.”

The man’s mouth dropped open a little as he looked in Tony’s direction. It took a few moments before he refocused his attention to Stephen. “Yes, I remember your reservation. You specifically requested room 202.”

Tony hung back and to the side as Stephen took care of things.

The man at the counter leaned forward and whispered, “I’m sorry, but is that Tony Stark?”

Stephen smiled, “No, he gets that a lot though. He can get pretty sensitive about it actually, so it would be best not to say anything. You know, too many people harassing him because he really does look like Tony Stark.”

Stephen finished off his sentence with a wink. The man looked slightly disappointed at Stephen’s response. It was interesting to him that people would be interested in Tony as a celebrity, because to Stephen he was just Tony. All the other titles and opinions people imposed on Tony had fallen away after their first meeting.

After going up to their rooms, Tony and Stephen put down their small bags. Stephen’s bag unfurled itself to reveal the fact that it was his cloak and Tony actually gasped at the unexpected reveal.

“You really are Mary Poppins.”

Tony grinned wide, looking pleased with himself as Stephen rolled his eyes. He had heard it all by this point, and chose to ignore the comparison. Sensing that he was a little put out, Tony grabbed at Stephen’s jacket.

“Hey, we’re finally alone. The room is a bit small, but at least It’s ours. No interruptions, no people coming or going. Finally alone in a room with a bed,” Tony purred, rubbing at his arms.

Stephen felt himself relax at the statement. It had been quite a while since he had found himself in such a situation, and with the look of hunger in Tony’s eyes, he highly doubted they would be leaving the room anytime soon. Good thing Stephen had come prepared mentally, physically, and spiritually. He wanted this more than he had wanted anything in a long time.

Tony stepped closer to him, closing the already small gap between them. Stephen could smell his cologne at this point-  something soft, but masculine. Without much hesitation, they leaned into each other for a kiss, not forced or hurried- exploring one another's mouths, with tongue meeting tongue. Tony’s mouth faintly tasting of the spearmint gum he had been chewing on earlier.

Stephen pulled him closer, his arms wrapping around the shorter, but stronger man. Tony returned his affections, pressing himself against Stephen, clasping at his back until they pulled away from one another. Their eyes met for a moment, and a sweet, soft smile spread on Tony’s face.

Then came a flurry of activity. Off came Stephen’s jacket, then the turtleneck, and then the belt. Stephen somehow managed to get off Tony’s jacket and t-shirt as well. Their arms kept bumping into one another, and although Stephen kept leaning in for another kiss, Tony denied him. He was too focused on removing every piece of clothing off of Stephen before even thinking of himself, or any other kind of desire.

“By the Vishanti, I don’t deserve someone like you,” Stephen groaned as he leaned into Tony’s touch.

Tony's hand had found its way down Stephen’s open trousers and into his underwear, palming his growing erection. Stephen wasn’t quite sure how it happened, too busy focusing on the various sensations assaulting him at the moment, but somehow they managed to shuck off their remaining clothes. They stood for a moment before Tony pushed Stephen back onto the bed. Practically draping himself on top of Stephen, Tony pressed against the taller man, his freed erection sliding next to his hand grasping at Stephen’s cock. There was very little space to move, with their bodies being so close together, but it was fine. At that moment nearly everything was fine as long as they were together.

They really didn’t need to rush, but their bodies were telling them differently. It started to get messier the longer they kissed, not caring about anything, just wanting to devour one another.

Stephen Strange was now mentally, physically, and spiritually a mess, undone by  Tony Stark.

Tony pulled away, his mouth red and plump. Stephen couldn’t help but stare into his face.

“Hold on.”

Tony got up, and headed over to the small bag he had brought with him, fishing something out of it. When he returned, Stephen saw the bottle of lubricant palmed in his hand. Pure lust graced Tony’s expression for a moment, looking Stephen up and down. When he positioned Stephen so that his legs spilled at the sides of Tony, Stephen curled up so they were practically face to face; Stephen only a little shorter compared to Tony like this. His daily yoga seemingly paying off for once.

His hands stretched out to trace the scars on Tony’s chest, his own scars on his hands prominently displayed, overlaying Tony’s. It was a reminder of who he was and how far he had come. At the same time he knew Tony probably felt similarly. Everyone knew of Tony Starks ordeal, and Stephen felt comforted recalling the story in his mind. There were so many parallels and correlations between their lives; it was no wonder Stephen felt safe with this man.

As Tony moved him so that they were contorted in such a way that they were much closer, he grasped their erections together, slowly pumping his fist as their mouths met. Stephen groaned from Tony’s deft movements. After a few more flicks of his wrist, Tony gently pushed Stephen backwards, once again repositioning him for better access. Stephen watch the man’s half-lidded eyes concentrate on what he was doing, eventually feeling a slick finger lightly run along his crack as Tony spread his cheeks wider. The look Tony had on his face was so delicious, memorizing, and filled with desire.

When he felt Tony tease the puckered skin of his anus, that electric spark of pleasure shot up his spine. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back just a little, willing himself to relax before Tony pushed into him slowly. He groaned as Tony took his time to add another finger, thoroughly coating and stretching him open. Stephen moaned when Tony’s fingers rubbed against his prostate, sending another wave of pleasure rolling through him like a storm on a hot summer’s afternoon. Crying out, he moved his hips to match Tony’s motions, silently demanding more from him.

“I need you, Tony.”

His voice was thick and had a hint of desperation that he hadn’t felt in a long time. It consumed him more than he liked, reminding him that he was a mere mortal with needs and desires that could not be put off indefinitely. He needed to be touched, to be loved- to feel alive, but for once to feel alive not out of fear.

Tony’s low, soft laugh eased his hurried heart as he held Stephen’s hips down with the most perfect force- strong and exact in its pressure. There would be some light bruising later, something Stephen would relish in when he looked in the mirror; marks of what they were doing.

Adding some more of the slick liquid, Tony added a third finger, concentrating on how it filled Stephen, and Stephen curled up enough to get a better view of them. It was a quick look, as after a little bit of time, Tony started to truly fuck him with his fingers, causing Stephen to fully recline his head and upper body back once again. He was not looking at Tony at this point, but desperately trying to move his pinned hips in order to fulfil his desire for more.

“I need you. I need you inside me. Filling me, fucking me,” Stephen begged.

“Please.”

Stephen paused for a second.

“Where’s those magic words?” Tony teased.

“Please, just fuck me,” Stephen cried in frustration.

Although he was smiling, he was impatient and he didn’t try to hide it. Sure enough he was spoiled as he felt the head of Tony’s cock pressed against where his fingers were. Exchanging one for the other was a quicker process than he was used to, but it was glorious.

The muscles in his legs worked overtime to bring Tony as close to him as possible. They paused for a minute as Tony leaned forward, capturing Stephen’s mouth for a slow, passion filled kiss. It felt good to have another person inside him and against him. Tony's weight reminded him that he was cared for. He hoped the man felt Stephen cared for him as well.

When their kiss broke, Tony looked at Stephen eyes filled with earnesty.

“Okay?”

He made a sound of agreement as Tony pulled back before thrusting into him again, first slowly before picking up his pace when he could tell Stephen was ready. Drawing moans from Stephen, Tony grunted a few times, as he really fucked Stephen in earnest. It was surprising how much power and energy the man had, much more than Stephen.

Tony reached to stroke Stephen’s cock, his rhythm a little clunky at first before synchronizing it with his thrusts.

“Oh, that's good. Fuck. Fantastic.”

“I know. Not so bad yourself,” Tony remarked, his breathing and tone uneven from his exertions.

Sweat beaded at his temple and his skin glowed from the perspiration. Stephen too started to feel it a little more as he tried to keep up with Tony’s pace. Although he was quite strong at this point in his life, he knew he would be strained and sore the next day.

Soon the all too familiar feeling of his pending orgasm reared up within him, and he could sense it was going to be all over too quickly for his tastes. Coming over his abdomen with a few specks of ejaculation decorating Tony, Stephen’s body tensed up causing Tony to come as well. Shallowly thrusting four or five times more, Tony was utterly spent. He practically collapsed upon Stephen, and Stephen petted Tony’s hair as he rested for a moment.

“Wow,” Tony said.

“My thoughts exactly.”

“I haven’t had sex like that in a while.”

“Hopefully it won’t be too long before the next time,” Stephen murmured.

He figured they were in it together by this point, but he didn’t want to make any overly hard declaration of his feelings quite yet. Stephen did know that he was falling in love with Tony, harder than he had fallen for someone in quite some time. Saying it felt like an action of permanence, and he wasn’t ready to make that commitment yet.

“I’m not exactly young anymore you know, but I’ll try to keep up with you.”

Stephen laughed at Tony’s teasing, feeling the same exhaustion.

Tony managed to retrieve a cloth, hastily cleaning themselves just enough so that they could spend a few moments together without thinking too much. After Tony did that, he moved to lay next to Stephen, closely pressing against the taller man.

The sun had already set at this point, and the glow of the lamp made everything seem a little softer. Holding Tony, Stephen considered moving, but he didn’t want this to end. It was comforting and needed after the day that they had, but especially the day Stephen had.

Even though Stephen wanted to stay wrapped up in Tony’s embrace, he knew it was unwise, and ultimately his stomach forced them to consider the next move. Its growl was loud enough that even Tony couldn’t ignore it, embarrassing Stephen. It always seem to have a mind of its own.

After his hunger made itself known, Tony suggested to go eat something they could easily get like pizza, a food they knew there would be a place open in the town. First though, showers were called for.

When they were done and dressed, they left the Bed and Breakfast, with Stephen reluctantly leaving his cloak in the closet in the meantime. It felt odd not to have it with him, but with Tony by his side, it was less weird than if he were alone.

Stephen tried to remained focused on what Tony was saying as they ventured to the place they had found not too far away, but his mind kept drifting back to the hotel room and other questions that popped into his mind.

When he was able to focus, Tony and him talked about Stephen’s time in Kamar-Taj a little, while Tony talked about some of his experiences with the New Avengers. It was the name he had been taking to calling his rag-tag group. Yet even as he walked through the picturesque town with good company and good conversation, Stephen was itching to get back so he could trace the different footprints of magic within the building and the room that they were staying at. Despite his best efforts to separate himself from his work for a while, he was too wrapped up in it, desperate to close this chapter in his life.

As they sat across from each other, sharing a slice and talking trash about pizza from outside of New York, Stephen felt a pang of sadness and guilt that he was so distracted. He hoped Tony didn’t notice too much. Tony deserved better to be honest; he did not deserve to be disappointed by Stephen.

Walking down the street after they had eaten, Stephen rubbed at his hands, missing his gloves. He never really liked venturing outside without his gloves or his cloak these days, but he didn’t want to draw too much attention to themselves in such a small town. Already he probably had tipped off any sorcerer within a 10 mile radius with the use of his portal. Any good sorcerer would be able to track and trace it with little effort.

“You’re not here with me are you?” Tony sighed, interrupting his thoughts.

“Hmm? You caught me. I keep thinking about Ms. Dunbar. I just don’t understand why here and why her? She’s no one of any consequence. She was just a local accountant. Surely there are others more suited to Karl’s purpose.”

Tony listened to him patiently; he was not angry, not annoyed, not frustrated with Stephen like so many others would be, and Stephen felt warmed by the man’s kindness.

“Something in her normalness? It’s hard to tell. I don’t understand how your world works. It’s not logical.”

Stephen smiled broadly, stopping to look at Tony’s face under the street lamp light.

“It’s not logical at all. It’s organic, and you just have to accept a great many things without trying to understand.”

How to give into the river of magic’s current was a lesson that took him ages to learn. He understood Tony’s perspective very well, as he once thought the same. None of it made sense frequently, often leaving Stephen to ponder the complexities of the problems that came at them. Most of the time there were no answers, just reactions.

They continued walking toward their destination, but Tony seemed more pensive after Stephen talked about Ms. Dunbar and magic. Stephen knew how troubling it all was, and he started to feel sorry about dragging Tony with him to the hospital. He wanted it all, his work and Tony, but was starting to second guess himself as to whether it would be possible to have it.

Tony was the first to break their tense silence, “So, you don’t have to answer this by the way, but were you two a thing?”

Stephen stopped again, Half of him didn’t want to answer, but the other half protested the man had just had his dick inside him and he shouldn’t be so protective of his past. Stephen wanted this to work. He really, really felt for Tony things he had not felt in the longest of time, maybe even decades at this point.

“Yes…No… Sort of. It’s complex. There was something, a few stolen kisses here and there, but nothing serious. Not in that way anyways, but…” Stephen sighed deeply before continuing, “He meant a great deal more to me than anyone had in a very long time. He saved me- beat up a few people when they attacked me for my watch in the streets of Kathmandu.”

He absentmindedly touched said watch before continuing, “Not to mention brought me into Kamar-Taj… Taught me… Fought for me and with me even though we didn’t always see eye to eye.”

“Now against you,” Tony said with a surprising edge to his tone.

Stephen paused for a second, knowing that even if Tony understood, he really probably didn’t want to listen to it. Stephen was a mess when it came to the subject. Hate, admiration, affection, disgust- all of these emotions welled up inside of him when he thought about the former Kamar-Taj master. Like magic, it wasn’t logical. It was haunting and gnawed at him that they were continually tied together like this.

“Yes, now against me,” Stephen repeated softly.

He wanted to continue further, to defend or at least explain a bit about the other man’s descent into fanaticism, but he didn’t. He stayed quiet, because he knew that even if he was emotionally invested, the man’s actions were only reprehensible and had to be stopped once again. Hopefully by the time they captured him Wong would be able to find somewhere secure to put him after they did catch him.

“Sounds like you cared more for him in the end than he for you. I get that. I get that all too well.”

There was a bitterness to his tone that was all too surprising.

“Maybe that’s the problem. Caring too much. Matters of the head versus the heart,” Stephen mumbled.

There were so much they didn’t know about one another, but something in Tony’s posture changed after a few seconds. It was a sympathetic response, with his shoulders relaxed and his mouth quirked into a shape that seemed more carefree than he probably actually felt.

They came to a stop in front of where they were staying, and it reminded Stephen of times in college; when he would play innocent while he walked his various dates home, acting like he wasn’t expecting to be let into their dorm or apartment. Only this time they would go up to their room together. There was no question of that. Still for old times sake, he leaned in and kissed Tony. There was always something romantic about kissing someone you cared for in the street, under a street lamp with the moon in the background.

Wrapping his arm around Tony shoulder, they went up the stairs and into the old building. 


	5. The Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Stephen return to reality.

When Tony heard about Stephen’s past with the sorcerer he was tracking down, he had a lot of sympathy for the man, even if there had been a slight uncomfortableness to the topic. But he was an adult and would handle things in an adult manner. They both had elements in their past that weren’t always the first thing they wanted to talk about.

Thankfully, their more somber moods seemed to increasingly lighten while laying in bed. As they snuggled close under the handmade quilt that adorned the top of it, Tony had to admit he was starting to see the charm to the place. It was cozy.

Yet reality always had ways of slipping into these moments of relaxation. Even though they physically managed to escape the city and Westchester- a surprising feat in itself, it still seemed that they couldn't get away from the truths that lay outside of the room. Every so often, Tony was bothered by the updates he had been getting from Happy and Peter. Although New York itself was fairly quiet this weekend, there seemed to be drama brewing at the headquarters. 

It shouldn't have been a surprise. Tony had recruited more of them over the past year or so, and they had been having a hard time adjusting to one another. If both him and Rhodey were gone like this weekend, all hell tended to break lose. Granted, when the Avengers were first assembled they also had a bumpy, rocky start, but they had to quickly learn how to work together for the greater good. These kids though were something else and always managed to find or create problems. It was even more of an amazing feat since some of them didn’t even live at the headquarters as they weren’t technically Avengers quite yet. 

Tony wasn’t going to make the same mistakes as he had with Peter in bringing them into the fold too early. Still, with the way they acted, it was like they had more power than the actually did have.

Hearing the phone go off once more, he groaned, annoyed with not being able to get away. Granted Stephen was the same, his eyes often unfocused and staring off into space as he thought about his own problems. Tony though had been doing this for such a long time, he figured he deserved a night off every now and again. However, he knew there could be grave consequences if he turned his phone off. And so he was a slave to it, for decades now, much like the rest of the populace. Only for him the stakes were much higher.

He sighed as he checked the message, feeling Stephen’s eyes on him as he did so. It was more stupid drama between a few members of the group about who had what role, and who went where and when. 

He scoffed at it. There was a reason he entrusted this to Peter, but he couldn’t remember why at this point. Even after all this time, Peter was still impatient when there was a problem to be solved. Not only that, but a few of them did not respect Peter. Tony figured this was probably due to the way that he would give commands. Peter was a good kid with a good heart, but Tomy noticed sometimes he was a little too excited and talked a little too fast, and that did not always inspire people.

Putting the phone to the side, he tried to ignore it. 

“Problem?” 

“There’s always problems. That's what you get when you throw a bunch of personalities together in an enclosed area. Sometimes I feel like the principal of a boarding school,” he grumbled. 

Stephen pulled him closer pressing a kiss to the top of his forehead. 

“Tony Stark’s wayward home for misfit children. I’ve often thought of your group in those terms. One of these days you’ll have to take off their training wheels and then they will graduate to a real bicycle.”

Tony laughed a single, sardonic laugh. That day seemed quite far away.

“They need something big. Something so grandiose that they forget their egos,” Tony mused.

“Like destruction of the world?” Stephen said, a note of sadness in his voice.

Tony knew he was referring to what brought them together in the first place. When the stakes were high, they easily removed themselves from petty squabbles.

“Maybe not on that scale.”

“It will come and sooner than we’d like. If there is anything I have learned, it is that.”

It was the way of things. Tony was glad he never had to explain this to Stephen, or make excuses. Although, he was pretty sure that Stephen did not have to suffer under the same systems that he had implemented. Kamar-Taj seemed to play a little fast with their rules. He really had no idea what they were doing over there even when Stephen explained it to him.

Curling up as close as he possibility could, Stephen’s embrace soothed him, and he fell asleep fairly quickly after in Stephen’s arm. For once he slept quite soundly compared to most other days and was only reluctantly dragged from his slumber the next morning by the sounds of birds outside the window. Stephen was already awake, looking at him while propped up on his side. Licking his lips, he reached out to touch Tony, running his hand from his chest downwards, making his desires very much known. Suddenly the room became much too hot to have a blanket over them, and Tony threw it off with a flourish as he pressed their bodies closer, helping Stephen out of the pj bottoms he had insisted on wearing to bed the night before. 

It was a good start to the morning with a quick romp that truly woke Tony up in every sense of the word.

He followed it up with a shower, and when he finished, he came out of the bathroom to see Stephen doing some sort of magic. It still took him aback when he saw magic up close. He wasn’t sure if he could ever get used to the sight and the feeling. It was hard to understand, but the dream like alteration of reality was something else when he saw it happening in front of his eyes. The air crackled with energy, making his skin crawl a little. It felt like the first time he used his suit to fly through a storm cloud; the static in the air created a charge that was most unlike the air on the ground. Still, even if he was a little uncomfortable, it was interesting to experience the atmosphere of magic.

Stephen was focused on what he was doing, and did not even notice Tony coming out of the bathroom. Tony hoped he wasn’t interrupting anything, that his presence would not affect what Stephen was doing. Stephen had this funny way about him as he worked, much more serious and almost intimidating. The normal jovialness in his face drained away by the intensity of his focus. He looked as powerful as Tony knew him to be. 

When he was finished, Tony stared at him, still only in his towel. For a moment Stephen was stuck inside of his head, thinking about something serious. He looked pensively at the wall before looking at Tony, giving him a warm smile. His eyes looked tired, and Tony figured the sorcerer probably had not slept much during the night. Yet they still contained warmth and happiness. The same happiness that Tony felt inside of him. 

Closing the distance between them, Tony dropped his towel as he came closer to Stephen, pressing his mouth against the sorcerer's. Finally he had found someone that could understand him and that he could understand. It had been so hard with Pepper to make things work. Neither of them were at fault. She had a business to run, and Tony had a world to save. That left them little time for one another, and when he finally did have time… 

They had their ups, but their downs were really down.  Now, he was content, and everything just felt like it clicked. He dared not mention to this to Stephen yet, but he felt that it would happen soon. Soon he would be able to say those three little words and not only think of them. It made his heart beat a little faster underneath its scarred exterior. 

Tony sighed when they pulled away, as Stephen’s hands came to rest at the small of his back. Their eyes met for a brief moment. 

“I can’t begin to fathom how we could have never crossed paths before that fateful day in New York,” Stephen murmured.

“Missed opportunities.”

“Whatever happens, I want you to know how much you mean to me. Even in this short time,” Stephen remarked before trailing off.

Tony knew he didn’t have the best ticker in the world, but in this moment his heart nearly stopped. Since he knew the feeling of his heart stopping, it scared him for a millisecond before he realized that it was only him being overcome with emotion. 

Stephen tilted his head downwards ever so slightly, trapping his mouth for another kiss. 

It was something that always surprised Tony- Stephen was a man with many different  facets to how he presented himself. The cool, removed exterior had eroded over time into someone who was caring, compassionate, emotional, with just a hint of self-absorption that made Tony feel comfortable. Had the man been too nice or too self-sacrificing, it would have been irritating. But he also knew there was more that he had not been shown at this point. Tony had a feeling that if he waited a little longer, and Stephen was a little more sure of them together, he would put all of his cards on the table.

He was like a blossom waiting to bloom and reveal its beauty in its entirety to Tony.

When they parted, Tony shivered from the cool breeze of the drafty room- a downside of staying in a pre-colonial house. 

“I’m at a serious disadvantage here you know,” Tony protested. 

He playfully shot Stephen a glare before he turned to fetch some clothing. Stephen lightly pinched his behind, causing him to jump a little and reinforce his false, angry expression at the sorcery.

“Beautiful. You know that, right?” 

“Of course.”

As he got changed, Stephen watched him. His eyes roamed over Tony’s figure. It had been a long time since he had someone look at him like that, with just utter admiration and desire. It felt good and he felt special. When he finished dressing, Stephen took one last look before heading off to the small bathroom to clean up.

Their little weekend getaway was coming to an end.

As Stephen ’Sanders’ checked out, Tony tried not to feel too discouraged about leaving. He kept thinking that if they had one more day or one more hour, he would be more satisfied. It had really been too short on all accounts. 

Opening a portal back to New York was also an unexpected disappointment. It had been great when getting to their destination, but the downside was they couldn’t enjoy a leisurely trip back. Even if they had to deal with weekend traffic, they could spend those hours talking and enjoying one another’s company or relaxing by listening to music. They could plan their next trip or make up imaginary dates they would never have. 

When they stepped through and the portal closed, Stephen pulled him off of the side, nearby one of the shrubs that lined the outside of the grounds and bestowed upon him a quick kiss. With sad eyes, he told Tony they’d talk soon and gave his goodbyes. 

Tony watched as he made another portal to leave, only turning to head inside when all the sparks had fallen and he was left staring at the woods in the distance. Walking back to the headquarters, he sighed. It felt like a dream in a lot of ways. Like all dreams, they had to end and often harsh reality was there to greet him.

After he was back inside the compound for a few hours, being harassed by everyone under the sun, he wanted to escape back to Concord. The weekend had been so nice and pleasant, and he was sure he would not get another chance anytime in the near future. Stephen seemed almost completely consumed with tracking down the other sorcerer at this point. Tony could only let him do what he needed to do. Although he understood and accepted this, part of him also wanted to throw a fit. There were somethings he still struggled with, part of his obsessive personality. It made him what he was today, but sometimes when he was so fixated on an idea it made things difficult. Right now he was fixated on getting more love from someone who was willing and able to give it, but lacked the time to.

At the same time, he also had his plate filled with trying to create exercises for team building. Carol and Peter were often at odds with one another, and the others had difficulties as well. It was starting to remind him of when he had signed the Accords. They were not a team. The situation was not ideal, and he didn’t want it to disintegrate into what had happened between him and what they quietly referred to as ‘Cap’s people’. 

After he monitored the kids for a little, he went into his office to contemplate what to do about it. Exercises, problem solving get togethers, therapy, and a pot luck dinner were just some of the ideas that floated around in his head and none of them seemed exactly right. 

He only snapped back to reality when Rhodey knocked on the door. His best friend looked refreshed from his vacation away with a woman he had been seeing. Tony hadn’t been introduced yet, as Rhodey protested that: A- Tony was too much to handle sometimes and B- they weren’t that serious. Tony was pretty sure they were actually serious, but he didn’t press his friend further. They both needed their privacy.

“Good weekend?” Tony asked.

“Miami is always good. How was Concord?”

“Don’t know. Didn’t really get to see it. Spent too much time holed up in the B&B," he exaggerated.

Rhodey rolled his eyes, and Tony grinned wide. 

“Yea, well, back to reality. Seems like there’s a storm brewing.”

Tony looked at the man, his grin wiped from his face as he contemplated all of it.

“You’re telling me. You know that feeling you get when shit’s about the hit the fan? I’ve got that coming at me from all sides now.”

Rhodey nodded. 

“Look Tony, if you want me to take over the exercises, I’m more than happy to. It might do you some good to step back from things for a while.”

“I’ve got nothing else on my plate now, except making new tech and upgrading suits for them.” 

“Better yet, hand some it off onto Peter or Carol. They need to step up to the plate.”

“They have been. Kind of. When they aren’t squabbling with the others.”

“You’re going to have to take off the training wheels sometime,” Rhodey responded.

Internally he laughed a little, but decided it wasn’t the right moment to tell Rhodey he sounded like someone else they knew. 

Tony sighed and grinned, taking off his glasses and putting them down on the table. He rarely removed them anymore at the compound, as he didn't particularly like people staring at his wearied eyes. Sometimes they looked at him a little too long and with a little too much pity. At this point the only ones who didn’t do that were Rhodey, Happy, and Stephen- the only ones he could trust. But like Rhodey had been urging, he knew that he would soon have to let the day to day workings of the Avengers go. Half of him almost thought about calling up Sam aka Cap 2.0 to come and whip all the younglings into shape. Between Sam and Rhodey, he knew that it would all get done. Yet he still wanted to have a hand in it, not quite trusting to let it all go. It had taken him a long time to get to this point.

“Yea,” he finally replied, “One of these days the training wheels are coming off and they’ll be your problem.”

“I’m not cleaning up your messes anymore. Plus we both know that I will probably retire long before you able to pull yourself away. All I can hope is that maybe Strange will be able to distract you, but I have a feeling he’s gonna be just like you. You two will be old and tired, holding on to your positions for way too long.”

“Hey, maybe he can magic me young. You never know.”

Rhodey laughed and shook his head, causing Tony to smile. They both knew if that was possible there would be a lot of people wanting to be sorcerers, or at least wanting to be friends with sorcerers. 

“So I guess you two are pretty much a thing now?”

Tony shrugged, but remained quiet. Rhodey knew exactly what it meant. It was serious, at least on Tony’s side, and despite the way that Stephen had waffled in the beginning, he was pretty sure Stephen felt the same.

“I’m happy for you Tony. After Pepper and everything with Steve, I know how hard it was for you to bounce back.”

Tony felt loved and proud at that moment. It was something that he had no idea he needed to hear, but apparently he had needed to hear it. Leave it to his bestie to really know how to make him feel great about the choices that he had been making. 

“Yea well, you can’t keep someone like me down for very long.” 

“You’re one stubborn bastard that’s for sure. Just make sure to invite me to the wedding.”

Tony grinned, “Don’t worry. You’ll have front row seats to the wedding of the century.”

“Wow. Oh man, I didn’t think you were this serious.”

“It was a joke.”

It was a joke, but the way that Rhodey looked at him, he instantly regretted making it. It had been so long since he had shown this much of himself, and it felt awkward to do so. They shared a lot, but this was… 

Feeling embarrassed, he looked away for a moment. He would have told Rhodey, but probably not so soon. Already Rhodey knew more than most, but this was scary for him.

“It was a joke,” Tony repeated, more forcefully than the last time.

Rhodey gave him a small smile, obviously not believing Tony.

“Yea, I know. Just a joke.”

Changing the topic, they talked for a good while more, until they had nothing else to say to one another. The quiet lull in their conversation felt natural and relaxing, and let Tony mull over what they had been talking about. His heart felt heavy with the fires of affection he had for the other man; the burning embers continually warming him as he thought about Stephen. 

It wasn’t something short term and hadn’t been for a long time. Even though this relationship was a lot slower than the others he had had, it felt right and for the first time in his life like a mature relationship. This time he wasn’t trying to win anyone else over, or please people. He was him, and they accepted each other at face value, never expecting anything. There were no words about his business or the Avengers, and he too could never say anything about what Stephen was doing. It felt equal even if their circumstances were not the same. If others didn’t understand their relationship, it didn’t matter. 

It felt freeing in a lot of ways.

Tony was far too gone at this point in time, and deep down inside, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he would have to declare his love for the other man. Now, if his mouth could only remember how to form the three little words, he would appreciate it. That was something for another day though.


	6. The Take Out

Stephen sat inside the Sanctum and checked his phone one more time for any messages. Of course there were none and the lack of messages told Stephen that Tony had his hands full with what was going on with his rag tag bunch of Avengers. Unsurprising given the amount of times the man had grumbled about their difficulties in the learning process.

Even though only a few days had passed since their trip to Massachusetts, it felt like a lifetime ago. Wong and him had talked about what had happened there and the kinds of things he had found in both the hospital and the bed and breakfast.

The traces of magic he had been able to detect had been altered from their state in all the other places that Karl had visited before his break out. Now his magical signature was wildly different. Before the first time they captured him, it had been purely Karl’s magic amplified, but this time his magic was tainted with something else, something not of the this world. 

If he had to compare it to something, it was like a blended tea; Karl’s magic was the base and all the other elements mixed in to create a new and distinct flavor masking the pure taste of it. In this case, the other magics also helped mask when Karl was last there. It could have been around the time Ms. Dunbar had been attacked, or up to a month or slightly more before. 

Sometimes it was so confusing trying to keep it straight, as the different dimensions, powers, and entities there were seemed to all have their own signatures of energy. Plus there was the added complication of the bed and breakfast they had been staying in was older than even the New York Sanctum’s building. There were readings in their room from long ago that were mixed in with everything else. Other magic users had stayed there, probably eons ago, and he had difficulties sorting out the faint older traces at first. What he had been left with after was more perplexing.

Wong explained that it seemed that it was not just dark magic they were dealing with, but some other kind of magic entirely. He wouldn't go as far as to label it as even a neutral magic, instead guessing that it might be an elemental magic from the description Stephen gave. Still Wong insisted that he was able to handle it alone for now. Stephen would appreciate some help, but he understood that he was more than capable of unraveling the mystery. Plus, who was there besides Wong who could help him with it? It was probably for the best that he was alone.

All of it was annoying and confusing, and he had no idea how to track a seemingly untraceable man. It seemed that Karl would outsmart them all at times. Stephen had to keep positive, as Karl did have a weakness. Frequently the other sorcerer was too emotional, too sentimental, and would often make mistakes when he was in that sort of state. That was how they had got him last time. It would probably be the way they would get him this time as well. If his readings of the signatures were correct, Stephen would be out powered otherwise.

Stephen sighed to himself before sitting back in his arm chair, closing his eyes. He had spent the last 5 hours researching, trying to find something that would further break down the different signatures much to no avail. What he really needed was to find out where they were coming from, but such a spell either did not exist, or was so rare that it may take weeks to find. Wong too promised that he would scour the archives at Kamar-Taj for the spells necessary. 

Sitting, stewing over the problem and finding himself becoming more frustrated by the minute, Stephen was not having a good night. He passed his time in this fashion until the moon had risen quite a bit in the sky. It was still not too late in the night, but he had had a long day. Part of him also felt a lot more lonely than he had before, adding to his dour mood. Something inside him had changed from the night before. He missed sleeping with another warm body next to him, and if he closed his eyes he could still remember Tony’s smell as he pressed closed to him.

Sighing, he decided the best thing would be to sleep early, plagued by thoughts of both Karl’s mania and his own loneliness. As he was about to retire to bed in a bad mood and slightly depressed by his situation, his phone rang. It startled him for a moment, as it almost never rang. Most of the time people would message these days, so he knew it had to be Tony. 

“Hey beautiful, wanna come over for some take out?” 

Slightly tired and not totally focused, he nodded before realizing he was on the phone.

“Yea. Sure. I just need a minute or two. Although I’m surprised you can get take out in that forest up there,” he teased.

Tony laughed at that.

“Well that’s because you’re bringing it. I’m thinking Thai, but can settle for Chinese.”

Stephen closed his eyes for a second. 

“Chinese is easier. I don't know if there are any Thai places open nearby, and frankly I don’t want to venture into NYU territory. I’ll come round in about an hour.”

Saying their brief goodbyes, Stephen hung up the phone and went to go look for the apprentice of the week who had been staying at the Sanctum. Ever since Wong and him had that discussion about not being an island onto himself, there had been someone else at the sanctum. With their numbers growing once again, Stephen offered to take on one of the advanced students to help train them. Thankfully it also allowed him the freedom to occasionally escape from his duties at the Sanctum, and it gave him something else to do in case he did find himself stuck on a problem like that night. Some of the newer ones really seemed a whole lot more lost than he had been at that stage.

After picking up some Chinese take out from down the street, he made a portal into the compound and into a reception room that he normally went to. He had special permissions to do so, otherwise he would set off multiple alarms and even probably be on the receiving end of some punches being thrown by unknown Avengers. It was not something he would like to experience anytime soon.

Sure enough Tony was waiting for him already, and although Stephen knew there were others that lived and worked in the place, Tony had always made sure they were sequestered off into private areas. It gave both of them a piece of mind, especially since they were pretty private about it all so far. Only Wong knew on his end, and he highly doubted Tony was screaming it from the rooftops. 

Tony took the bagged dinner from him and Stephen followed him to the private elevator that led to Tony’s private quarters. They had been in them together briefly a few times, but never long to satisfy either of them. Such was his life, and it would be the same that night. It couldn’t be helped. 

Stephen and Tony sat across from one another in the kitchen and Tony immediately started opening the familiar white boxes and tin containers. He must have been hungry, as he began to dig in with barely a word exchanged between them. 

Stephen could imagine what Tony had been doing before hand. There were little stains on his skin that indicated that he had been in his workshop, but he had cleaned up enough so that the smells didn’t linger on the other man. Stephen’s father had always worked on the tractors or grain machinery when he was a kid, so the distinct smells were familiar to him. However, Tony always took so much care to clean up before they met. He never could pick up on those smells, but he wouldn't have minded. Something about the idea of Tony being related to home made him happy.

Stephen felt himself admiring how smart and handy the man was. Before the accident Stephen had his hands with his brain, but now he only had his mind. An organ that seemed to work a little less brilliantly these days, overwhelmed by all the information constantly thrown at him.

As he watch Tony deftly using his chopsticks, he was slightly envious of him. Sometimes the pangs of the past were a little too great to ignore. But when he brought his eyes up to look in Tony’s face, he couldn't help but smile. A small piece of a stray grain of rice caught in his facial hair. Stephen reached over to wipe it off.

“Thanks.”

Stephen looked back down at his plate and continued to pick at his food with his fork. He was not really in the mood to eat, but felt obligated to. 

With a bit of fanfare, Tony finished the bite in his mouth before sighing.

“God I love having a boyfriend that brings you food when you call. Best delivery service on the planet, and it’s still hot. I guess the deliver man is too.”

Stephen swallowed hard at the statement. Although the words had rolled off Tony’s tongue easily, Stephen was surprised. The air felt thicker as his mind replayed the word in his head- boyfriend. He hadn’t been a boyfriend in nearly a decade by this point. He was always a lover or a one night stand. Part of him wondered if he really deserved the title of boyfriend.

Feeling his face heating up, the next time Tony looked up at him his neutral expression changed, lighting up in delight. Stephen couldn’t tear his eyes away; Tony’s grin was brilliant. It always had that hint of mischief lurking under it and made Stephen smile wide in amusement. 

Stephen was still in awe that he had not only met someone like Tony, but that he had managed to start a relationship with him. It was almost unfathomable how the man was still single after all this time. Stephen understood his defects enough where he knew that what he was getting was much more than he deserved.

“What?” Tony prodded after a few seconds “Boyfriend too scary of a word? If you want, I guess I could call you something like my partner, but it’s a bit stiff isn’t it. Maybe a bit too heavy? Lover? Sounds too...”

Tony made a face at his own thought.

“No, no. Boyfriend is good. Boyfriend is something can live with.”

The word seemed to catch on his tongue; it was so foreign to him. In his head though, he started to repeat it, becoming more familiar with the phrase. 

“For a minute I was worried you thought I was pushing too fast.”

Stephen shook his head in response. 

“Normally I never make it to this point,” Stephen mentioned softly. 

Then there was a look of bewilderment, as if Stephen had just told him a lie. 

“Never? I mean I guess I get that, but it’s hard to believe.”

“I’m not an easy man.”

“Maybe. People tend to get scared off when you got a sorcerer ex and cape that won’t quit.”

“It’s a cloak, not a cape. But, even before I become a sorcerer though. Well, in those days I guess I was always chasing the next best thing.”

It was embarrassing reflecting on how he had treated people back then.

By this point they had eaten a bit of what Stephen had brought and Tony would have leftovers for a day or two. Maybe he outdid himself, but he hadn’t been sure what Tony liked, so he had gone with the basics, a rice dish, a noodle dish, a soup, egg rolls, and some vegetable stir fry. It seemed he liked everything, including his company.

They were silent for a little while as they cleaned the table together, but they kept catching one another's eyes in a flirtatious manner.

After they finished, Tony came around him and wrapped his arms around Stephen’s midsection. It felt good to have Tony bury his face into Stephen’s back shoulder blade, and Stephen extended his head backwards a tad to rest against Tony’s head. A minute or two passed before Tony began to kiss at the side of his neck, eventually capturing Stephen’s ear between his teeth, teasing and tickling him ever so slightly. 

Stephen broke free of his grasp before moving around so that they were now face to face. Tilting his head so their mouths could meet, Tony press against him, moving him back against the table. 

“Stephen,” Tony gasped, breaking free, “I just…”

Tony paused, but his eyes and the way that his mouth hung slightly open with his breathing more stilted than before said it all. As Stephen smiled and closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them, he knew exactly what to do.

“I love you, Anthony Stark.” He hesitated for a moment, “It’s odd to say the words out loud, but my heart has been saying them for weeks now.”

“Weeks?” 

Tony’s voice was rough with emotion, exactly how Stephen felt that he probably sounded as well. To be honest, he had lost some of his game from back in the day. Spending all of his time amongst books, sorcerers in training, and Wong didn't really help him much. He had a feeling though that Tony made him this way, forgetting any desire to be suave or charming.

Tony looked at him, contemplating on what Stephen had said. Maybe Tony wasn’t ready, and Stephen was okay with that. When he went to tell the man that, Tony raised his hands to run his fingers over the fabric of Stephen’s robe. His eyes looked at the spots where the fabric was beginning to thin from his now years of wearing them.

“I love _you_ , Stephen Strange.” 

Stephen’s face actually hurt by how big his grin was, and his heart cried out in relief. It wasn’t something he had been waiting for or expecting, but it was more than welcome to hear. It had been ages and ages since those three little words had been said to him. He couldn’t even remember who was the last person to say them. It might have been Christine, but he really couldn't remember at the moment.

Tony pushed him so that Stephen was sitting on the table now, and kissed him roughly, hungrily as his hands began to unhook, unbutton, and undo the strips of fabric that covered Stephen’s chest. When Tony was finished pushing the clothing off of Stephen, he ran his hands over Stephen’s chest, stopping to thumb over the scar that lay above his heart. He had so many to match that one now, most of them lower and in less dangerously positioned places. 

Breaking apart, Tony looked down at Stephen’s tented trousers, as Stephen continued to stroke at Tony’s sides, under his shirt.

“Stay the night,” Tony urged.

“You know I can’t.”

“Come on, I’m sure they can’t begrudge you one night a week off.”

Stephen shook his head sadly, “You know how it is, but tell you what. I think I have to go back to Concord again once I find this one spell i’m looking for. I can make some more excuses and then we can steal some more time together.”

Stephen hated this. This is when things normally began to fall apart. As a doctor he actually had more time, but now it was the same problem as back then. When things started to get more serious at his job, people wanted more time from him. Time was something he never seem to have plenty of. 

Continuing, Stephen spoke up, “I still have a few more hours before my coach turns back into a pumpkin though.”

“Don’t you have some magic for that?” Tony teased.

Smiling, Tony was obviously pleased with himself and leaned in for one more kiss. Stephen knew this was all the magic he needed for the night, with Tony fixated on removing every piece of clothing possible, putting his hands over every square inch of skin facing Tony and a lot of his skin that wasn’t facing the man as well. Returning the favor, he managed to rid Tony is his shirt, breaking their kiss once again. 

Taking the opportunity, he began to kiss Tony’s neck, then down his collarbone and shoulder, before dipping a bit lower. He then captured one of the blush colored nipples in his mouth, tonguing the nub, and earning him a groan. Tony then pulled his hips closer so they pressed together, causing Stephen to let go of the bud. The maddening layers of fabric that separated them from their true goal, were quickly removed. Thankfully, Stephen had forgone wearing his belt that evening, and it made their task quicker and easier. 

“Yes,” Stephen growled as Tony took them both in hand.

He had such a strong, confident grip. It reminded Stephen of his own dexterity before he had his accident. As he watched, mesmerized by the sight of the both of them, Stephen felt his mouth watering. Gently he pushed Tony away before getting off the table and dropping to his knees. 

Taking a second to admire the shape, form, and weight of Tony’s cock under his fingers, he then teased Tony by resting his mouth against the head for a moment. His eyes looked up and noticed Tony’s peering down at him. 

He loved this part most of all, and it had been quite a while since he had been in this position. His tongue darted out to cradle the top of the head, before tracing its underside. As he took Tony into his mouth, he focused on his task at hand. His shaking hands running up Tony’s bare thighs before coming to fondle the man’s scrotum. He took Tony in as far as he could, almost to the base; only pulling back right before it became a little too much for him. It seemed that he couldn't push himself too much for the moment, but he was determined and knew it would be done before the night was over. 

Tony didn’t touch him much at first, only putting his hand on his shoulder, almost as if to steady himself. He would have assumed that was the purpose if Tony’s knees weren’t pressed against him with quite a bit of pressure behind him. A hand moved, entwining itself into Stephen’s hair. Not pushing, not guiding, but resting at first, until Stephen had established a good rhythm with mouth. 

After a minute or two he pulled himself off of Tony’s cock, knowing what he must look like. Knowing that his mouth must be red, his hair tousled, and his gaze glassy made him feel powerful. Looking up, Tony’s expression confirmed his hypothesis.

“You’re beautiful,” Tony groaned out.

Stephen smirked before returning to the cock in front of his face. Focused and determined, he managed to take all of Tony in this time, and Tony made the most exquisite noises in response. It wasn’t much longer before Stephen had to brace his forearms on Tony’s thighs as he demanded a bit more with his hips than what Stephen had been used to. Slightly tugging on Stephen’s hair as he did it, it felt good. 

“I’m gonna…” Tony huffed after a few more minutes.

Stephen encouraged him the best he could with his mouth full and his hands busy, and it didn’t take much longer before he did come, spilling into Stephen’s mouth and throat. 

After Tony was spent, Stephen reluctantly pulled himself off and stood up to kiss his boyfriend, knowing that Tony could taste himself. Groaning, Tony took Stephen in his hand, and with the same precision that he normally showed, he jerked Stephen off. It didn't take very long, and when he finished with his come decorating the floor, they stood there for a second. 

Stephen felt a chill and shivered. Noticing this, Tony pressed closer to him, embracing him before giving him another quick kiss. Feeling Tony’s chest rise and fall at a steady pace, his breathing evening out after a few moments. It was soothing, satisfying his soul along with his more carnal desires.

“Good?” Tony enquiried.

Stephen nodded before resting his head against Tony’s. Anything was good as long as they were together. 

He really didn’t want to leave. For the last few hours he had been able to forget and escape his life and who would want to return to reality. 

It was starting to get addictive.

“Next time come to the Sanctum,” Stephen urged after a minute. 

“I guess I can do that. I don’t know though. I feel like something is going to reach out and bite me from the shadows at times.”

“I promise. Anything that bites is kept in the basement.”

Tony laughed at Stephen’s non-joke. Really the only thing that did bite were the pesky pair of talking snakes that none of the masters had been able to get rid of. The Sanctum was not a terribly dangerous place, and in Stephen’s opinion it was a far less dangerous than having a bunch of young superheroes with super abilities in training. And at least if Tony came to the Sanctum, they could spend the night together. They could have a proper breakfast.

After straightening up and dressing, Stephen looked at Tony with regret in his eyes. It was late, and he had to go soon.

“I don’t know how to balance this,” Stephen confessed.

“I’m not the one to be asking about that kind of thing. Look, I’m not expecting anything much. You got your things, I got mine. It will work out. We just might need a little more patience than what we’re used to. Isn’t that your thing though? Being zen or something? I’ve seen you meditating before.”

Stephen shook his head smiling. If only it were that easy. Being zen sounded pretty good at the moment.

“Yea, sure. I’ll try to be a little more zen about it.”

Tony gave him a peck on the mouth before running his hands through Stephen's hair in a comforting way. It was good, and he felt himself relax. He was being paranoid about this kind of thing since he wasn’t used to this. Reminding himself that Tony to had things to do too, he felt foolish. 

Tony sighed before speaking, “We will have some time. I know it doesn't seem like it, but we will. Don’t worry about it. Stop overthinking it.”

Stephen felt a little better after hearing that. 

Leaning forward he gave Tony a quick kiss in appreciation. And for the life of him, he couldn't remember why it had taken him such a long time to share such thing with Tony. Why was this relationship so different from all the others he had been in? Maybe he just cared too much. 

Reluctantly saying his goodbyes, he made a portal back to the Sanctum, and he wondered if it would be possible in the future to add an easier access point in the sanctum for both of them to use. Now that they established how flexible Tony was to the idea of spending time at the Sanctum, Stephen hope that he would be able to convince Tony to come and stay more and more.

He had been in such a good mood, but that changed when he saw Wong in the foyer talking with the apprentice he had put in charge of the Sanctum when he left. Wong looked irritated and disturbed. 

“What’s going on?” Stephen asked, hoping he wasn’t in trouble.

“Another attack and once again in Concord. I don’t know why, but there must be something special about the place.”

Stephen froze. He had no idea why Karl went back. The town possessed nothing particularly special in terms of mysticism or magical properties. There was nothing important about it beyond being a historical city, but he highly doubted Karl had an interest in American colonialism. Surely if the man was going for symbolism some place like Salem would have a little more pizazz. In all honesty, Stephen had thought Karl would have eventually come back to New York like before. Then again, maybe there was some advantage to working in smaller place. 

Whatever Karl had planned, he figured he’d find out sooner than he liked. He hoped that this new trip to Concord would help clear up a few things. In the meantime though he would have to continue to search for that spell he needed. 


	7. The Upset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble in paradise.

They were back in Concord again because of Stephen’s job, but Tony wasn’t about to complain. He would take what he could get and he was sure that Stephen felt the same. It wasn’t as if he was readily available every second of the day. Plus, it would give them move time to ’steal moments’ as Stephen would say. Moments that were so rarely afforded to them over the past two weeks.

This time though, he would not accompany Stephen to any of the places that housed the victims and survivors, instead opting to stay in the same room of the bed and breakfast they had stayed in previously, wanting some time for himself. Although Tony had suggested to rest in a more upscale hotel in Boston, Stephen had insisted on staying at the same place once again. When he asked about it, Stephen merely mumbled something about traces of magical signatures and sorting things out. Tony knew that previously Stephen had casted spells in the room, but since he really had very little interest beyond a concern for the sorcerer, he didn’t press further. They did have some good memories of the place after all, and Tony was rather a creature of sentiment at times. 

As Tony checked in, the man who had checked them in before was there. He was polite and kind, but starred way too much for Tony’s comfort. There was something odd about his look. It was like he wanted to ask Tony about his identity, as so many strangers often did, but held back.

Thinking back, there was something slightly off to inn keeper the first time they came as well. Even though Tony didn’t really interact with him, he had watched Stephen and the man together. At the time he chalked it up to small town mentality tinged with homophobic bias. Tony knew that sometimes two men sharing a single bed still might raise some eyebrows, but he had figured that this was Massachusetts, and people should have been used to it by now. Especially with Concord being so close to so many northeastern cities, it was hard to fathom this kind of passive aggressive exchange happening in a place of business. Tony was sure that all kinds came through these doors as tourist were surely jumping to be booked at an inn like this quite regularly in the nicer seasons. So why was the receptionist -slash- inn keep like this?

Tony tried not to think about it too deeply, knowing it was this man’s problem and not his. He highly doubted the man was willing to risk losing his business over his personal opinions, and he wasn't not cordial, just a bit odd.

Tony pushed up his glasses before he took the keys from the inn keeper, thanking him in return. Whatever interaction they had was over, or so Tony thought. Surprisingly though, the man called out to him as he started up the stairs. Tony stopped and turned as he put his food on the fourth stair from the bottom. Because the stairs were narrow, it was a little awkward to look back, but still he felt he should be polite.

“Sorry, but I have to ask. Are you Tony Stark? The other guy said you weren’t, but you look too much like him.”

There it was- a question he had waited for. Sometimes he liked the people who asked the question better than the ones who just stared. Having been on the receiving end of both in such a short space of time, it got under his skin ever so slightly.

“In the flesh, but let's just keep that between you and me.”

“That man you came with the last time, Sanders, the same one who made the reservation...” Tony went back down the first steps that he had gone up, his curiosity flaring up. “There’s something not right about him.”

Tony jerked his head. It was such an odd comment, and he had no idea what the man could have possibly meant.

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t want to see someone like you falling victim to someone like that. Just saying, people got auras about them, and that one is... Seems alright on the surface, but when you dig deeper, they’re just trouble. No offense. Like I said, just don’t want to see a national treasure like you get taken advantage of. Doesn’t seem right to me that’s all. Clean lookin’, but slick I bet. Like he’s just trying to pull a fast one over you, I’m reckoning. You need someone who's gonna treat you right.”

Tony stood there stunned. It was unbelievable that someone like that would say that to him. What had happened to customer service these days? Was he essentially implying that Stephen was a gold digger, as if Tony couldn’t smell a person like that a mile away? Or was he trying to hint that Stephen was dangerous in other ways?

He went up to the room irritated, and made up his mind to call Stephen to tell him about the encounter. After his initial shock, the thing that unnerved him wasn’t that the man was warning him off Stephen, but the fact that he seemed a little too nosey, like he had been watching them a little too closely the last time they had been there. Replaying the conversation in his head, it seemed a little more disturbing than just a bored innkeeper’s innocent comments.

They weren’t going to stay in such a place, and if Stephen wanted to come back to do his magic stuff he normally did, Tony was fine with that. Tony though wasn’t going to stay there. Who knew if there was a camera or some such thing inside? Especially since the man seemed to remember Stephen’s fake name from before.

Only Stephen didn’t answer when Tony called. Wherever he was, he had turned off his phone or had no service. It was times like these Tony wished he had given Stephen a device he had given the rest of the mini-Avengers. At least those kids responded quite readily. Granted his relationship with them was very different. Still, he had never been in a relationship with someone who was so unavailable as often as Stephen was. It felt a little maddening, even if he was happy most other times. 

He had to keep remembering that they were normally happy at the moment, even if he was disturbed and irritated from the encounter down the stairs. The whole thing made him a little more skittish than he had been in a while.

Tony sighed and called up Friday to make him reservations at the nearest five star hotel that had an available suite. After he had done that, he did some work related to Stark Industries while he waited a good while for Stephen call back. Finally, when Stephen did call back, he had told Tony he would be there sooner rather than later before hanging up. It was rather an abrupt end to their conversation, and Tony had yet to have a chance to tell him about the problem. It would have to be a surprise for when Stephen got there.

And so he waited for Stephen to come; his work occasionally being interrupted by the thought of the possibility that he was being watched at the moment. He knew that it was unlikely, but still it was better to be safe than sorry. So after the idea had gnawed at him, he started to search for any equipment that may be installed, or any holes in the wall as it would not be unheard off in this day and age.

After about thirty minutes he heard footsteps approaching the door, and Tony watched as the lock on the door slowly turned to the unlock position. It was Stephen, and he looked unhappy and frazzled. A sour frown crossed his face as he closed and locked the door again. Tony guessed he might have been harassed by the man downstairs as well.

Stephen's brow was furrowed; his eyes focused on nothing, obviously lost in thought.

Tony got up off the ground where he had just been inspecting where the molding met the wood of the floor. Stephen suddenly turned towards him as Tony brushed off his clothes, unsure if there was any dust that had settled on them.

There was nothing he could trust about the way things were run at this place, and although it may have sounded paranoid, it was better to be safe than sorry. He hoped Stephen would understand.

“I’m not getting anywhere with this. I don’t understand it, and the riddle is not unraveling itself," Stephen finally said.

Tony just stared at him for a second, frowning. He was incredibly frustrated. Tony had never heard him like this before. Normally even if Stephen did get upset, he tended to just go quiet, lost in his own mind.

“Look. Maybe you just need to take a step back for a moment.”

“There is no stepping back! The more time I waste the more innocent people are in danger. Already there have been five. Five in the span of months!”

“Okay, calm down Stephen. Things will be okay. You’ll figure it out soon. He obviously wants to be found.”

“And how many more will become like Ms.Dunbar until that time?”

“I get that, but right now can only take it one step at a time. Maybe it would be good to get a change of scenery? I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t think there is anything new here for you. Plus, the guy here is weird Stephen, and tried to warn me about you when I checked in. Look, I’ve made a reservation at the Westin... ”

Stephen jerked his head in surprise to look at Tony and cut him off before he could continue. “The Westin? Tony, I need to stay here. This place has a connection to Karl, and I need to do this. I need to find him. Even if you don’t like the man downstairs, we don’t need to stay at the Westin. This place is perfectly fine.”

Now he felt annoyed. He was most definitely not staying in this place. The first time had been amusing, almost whimsical, but he was not used to sleeping in such a small space. The added hostility only made his resolution more firmly set, especially since Stephen was now hung up on searching for his crazy ex. He could understand the man to a degree, but it still stung to feel like he was being pushed aside for whatever the hell Stephen was doing. It wasn’t rational. Tony tried to calm himself, but felt his jaw tighten in response to the sudden argument.

He would come out on top of this thing.

“I think he’s been spying on us. That’s why I was on the floor looking for any recording equipment or holes. I know you are trying your best, but I don’t feel comfortable here.”

Stephen put his hands up in frustration for a second, and even if he knew Stephen’s reaction wasn’t about him at the moment, it still irritated him more.

Pain and frustration filled Stephen's expression, as if he was being tortured by this puzzle. Although Tony could get that, he didn't really want to be subjected to it.

Taking a moment to calm himself, he sighed, before going over and putting his hands on the man’s arms. Tony rubbed at them in what he hoped was a soothing gesture, and he knew he had to diffuse the situation, remembering that he too was trying to be a little more easy-going these days.

Tony no longer wanted to feel like he was on the brink of developing ulcers all the time. He didn’t want to go back to the that period in his life where panic attacks happened almost daily.

“Look, last time you picked this place, and this time let me take care of it. You still have the room to do whatever magic things you need to do. I can rent a car and you can join me later. I got a suite, so we can relax, take a bath, have some room service, and just have a good night.” Tony said, trying to keep his tone smooth and comforting.

The response he received was not what he expected. Stephen furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes again.

“I’m sorry if this is not ideal for you, but you know what I do and what I need to do. If you didn’t want to come you could have stayed in New York," he gritted out in response.

Frustratingly, Tony tried to steady his temper. This conversation was not going the way that he was hoping it would. It wasn’t really a big deal, and he didn’t understand why Stephen was being so stubborn about it.

“I’m going to The Westin. You can join me when you’re finished or you can stay here. Your choice.”

He didn’t want to give ultimatums, but he also didn’t want to argue. He was done with people arguing with him for the sake of arguing, and if it ended here, so be it. There had been so many occasions where he gave his all and had gotten nothing in return. If Stephen turned out to be one of those people, it wouldn't feel like Tony's loss this time.

Stephen just stood there with his mouth slightly open in disbelief. It really wasn’t as big of a deal as it seemed at the moment, but Stephen was pushing to make the problem bigger with just the way his face looked. Now, Tony was fully annoyed.

“Fine. Do what you want.”

“I don’t want to fight, but I am also not comfortable staying here.” Tony reminded him of the point of their argument.

Silence fell between them after he had said it; watching as Stephen slowly began to relax at what he had said, obviously becoming a little less edgy after thinking about it for a moment. By the end of his silence, he almost looked ashamed by what he had said and done.

“Okay. I will try to come by after I am finished here. I don’t know how long it will take.”

Stephen sounded a little pouty about it, but it lacked the bite from before.

Tony was glad that the man was finally seeing reason. After a few more minutes in silence, Stephen looked at him with regret in his eyes. Tony could laugh at the absurd situation that had just arisen and been resolved in record timing. He had forgotten how maddening other people were in a relationship.

“Sorry,” Stephen mumbled, like a child after being chastised by a teacher.

“Hey,” Tony said. He stepped closer, his expression softening, “I love you babe. Don’t forget it.”

A corner of Stephen’s mouth quirked upward in a small smile. It was good to see that he wasn’t too put out by their argument, but there was still a light undercurrent of irritation in the air. Stephen seemed quite stubborn about some things, probably matching Tony’s stubborn nature. It wasn’t a good thing, but he guessed it couldn’t be helped. At least though, Stephen seemed to take Tony’s feelings into consideration when he explained more in detail.

After about a minute, Stephen answered him, “I know. I love you, too. I’m not very good at this, and with the added stress… I don’t know, maybe both of us coming here was a bad idea.”

His brow furrowed in concentration as he looked around the room. Tony could feel how he was being affected by all of this. It was hard to watch at that moment, even if he did think the man was being a little over dramatic.

Tony thought for a minute before speaking, "Okay then. We’re good?”

Stephen nodded before turning away.

Frowning, Tony took out his phone again to call Friday to arrange for a car. Stephen seemed to ignore him, instead waving his hands in the air once again. It always felt weird to be in an area when magic was cast. There was this slight rush of electricity that made the hairs on his arms raise up, as if it were cold. Only inside the room it was very warm, made warmer by the magic. Something always felt off afterwards as well, and he wondered if Stephen was just used to it at this point. Didn’t he also feel that absence after the magic was gone?

Hanging up his phone, Tony watched as Stephen was sitting on the floor in a meditative pose. It was no yoga, and sure enough, there seemed to be a slight glow on the floor. It was barely visible, but it was there nonetheless. It created a very eerie atmosphere, and Tony couldn't help but think that sometimes his life was a little too sureal these days.

Watching Stephen, it was hard to imagine to what purpose it was for beyond the basics that he had told him about. Then again, if he ever got around to showing Stephen his workshop, the man would probably have a similar reaction. 

After a good half and hour, Stephen was still at it, and Tony had a call that his car was waiting downstairs. Quietly, he showed himself out without bothering the other man.

Part of the reason for this was due to the fact that Stephen wasn’t really endearing himself to Tony at this moment, even if they had said all those nice words they were supposed to say after a disagreement. And if Stephen needed him or was on his way, he could just call Tony. There was no more need for terse words to be exchanged.

As he came down the stairs, the man at the desk looked at him in surprise.

“Mr.Stark, are you leaving?”

“I have some business to attend to.”

“And Mr.Sanders?”

“He’ll be here for a while. He may request an early checkout though.”

The man nodded. He was certainly very nosy, but Tony once again chalked it up to the small town mentality after not finding any cameras or suspicious holes; figuring that it must get boring in a place where everyone seemed to know everyone.

Tony walked out and sure enough someone was waiting with a car for him. It was not a model he would have normally gone for if he had some forewarning, but it would do.

As it wasn’t too far from the Westin, he figured the drive would be nice and smooth, and he relaxed a little as he adjusted his seat. All of the anxiety that had been building up from the moment he stepped in that bed and breakfast seemed to slowly disappear.

Pulling away from the curb, he waved back at the rental agent, looking forward to the evening he would have. He thought about the things that could help de-stress both him and Stephen: a nice dinner, warm bath, a large bed, something to drink.

Sure enough the drive was uneventful and lovely. There were no more leaves on the trees, but Tony always found the northeast to be quite lovely. He would have much preferred the drive with company, but it may have been for the best that he and Stephen were not together for it. Stephen obviously needed to do his thing alone and in peace.

Tony had to believe that things would work out in both their love life and Stephen’s professional life. The balance was difficult though, as he knew all too well.

Tony also took some more time to savor the act of being alone, unwatched and not having to explain himself. Instead of going to the hotel directly, he spent a good amount of time traveling around the back roads and even stopped off at a small general shop for some souvenirs that he could bring back to the kids at the headquarters. 

By doing this Tony was trying to forget his argument with Stephen. It hadn’t been an expected one, but gave him quite a bit of insight into Stephen. He was a bit intense, stubborn, and difficult when he was angry. As uncomfortable as it was, it was still interesting to see that side of him. He could get a small a taste of arguments in their future from their conversation earlier. It was natural there would be more, but he hoped that they would be as quickly resolved as the one they had just had.

He drove around a little longer until he was feeling almost entirely better. When he got to the hotel, he checked in and went up to the suite. Tony felt almost good about everything by the time he dropped his stuff in the room and began to plan for the night. They had to look forward towards the future and not dwell on the past.

After an hour at the hotel, he even felt a little less tired than before, most likely from the extra sunlight from the large windows. This was more his style, and although Stephen seemed unbothered by his surroundings, Tony was used to a certain standard of living. This room would suit him quite nicely.

So he waited in comfort for Stephen to call or to come, but it was taking quite a long time. Knowing the man, he was probably pacing around considering all of the information he had gathered over the past few weeks. It sometimes seemed that Stephen was wound a little too tight, wanting to change the things he couldn't. 

After some time though, it seemed odd that Stephen wouldn't even take a break to check his phone. Surely he would need some time to rest from whatever he was doing, and Tony grew concerned.

At first, Tony tried to message, but there was no answer. Then he tried calling- still no answer. He tried again, and there was no answer.

His stomach lurched as he just knew that something was not right, and he made the decision to go back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more parts left. ^-^


	8. The Surprise

Tony left some time before, but Stephen was unsure exactly when he had left as he hadn’t said goodbye. At the time, he was focused on the task in hand, but it wasn’t an unexpected departure. Still he felt bad that he didn’t tell Tony that he would see him later. Unfocused, he couldn’t even remember if they had established that fact earlier.

The day was turning out to be a bust. They had quarreled for the first time ever, and he wasn’t able to gather very many new pieces of information. It really was not Stephen's day.

However, there was one very relevant piece of information he had found; it seemed as if the other sorcerer had been receiving help from someone else. Stephen figured he was probably gathering followers just as Kaecilius had. He couldn't be a hundred percent certain, but it would be logical. Stephen had learned over the last year or so that there were quite a few sorcerers like Karl, dissatisfied with the education they had gained either at Kamar-Taj or at other centers for practice. There was always strength in numbers, but even though he had found out about the different kinds of fringe groups of sorcerers, it seemed that Karl had not aligned himself with any of them.

Thinking more deeply about it, it was not unfathomable that he would make his own little group. Karl was charismatic. At times his way of thinking almost made sense, if it had not involved disregarding other’s lives and life quality. But thinking about the situation too deeply made him feel worse about not being able to house Karl in a proper facility for incarceration.

The first time he had learned about Pangborn, he had more sense of responsibility than what was perhaps proper. Karl’s defection wasn’t his fault, but he also knew that he had been a catalyst for this entire situation by unmasking the Ancient One’s reliance on Dormammu that day. That continued to weigh deeply on him, even after all this time.

As Stephen sat at the edge of the bed, he looked around the small room taking a break for once. He hadn’t thought of the place as that bad, but his standards of living dipped quite a bit by the time he had left for Kamar-Taj. There was nothing wrong with it, but he had to begrudgingly admit that it was more of a place that his grandparents would have enjoyed than someone like Tony. From what he had seen, it was obvious that the man lived minimally, but in luxury and had all of his life. Stephen was used to a fluctuating lifestyle, as he had experienced it all- even for a very short while he had gotten a taste of homelessness.

The added tension of the day had not made for a very productive conversation when Tony brought up the fact that he didn’t want to stay. Stephen hoped Tony would see his side of things, but the man was clearly not comfortable. In the end, Stephen had to respect that.

Tony’s paranoia about the owner downstairs seemed a bit extreme, but as Stephen thought about it, the man had been watching them really closely. At the same time he knew that Tony had not found anything related to his hypothesis that they were being watched, so he took comfort in that and wrote it off as just another odd person he had come across.

Sighing, Stephen stood up and looked around the room one more time, debating whether to try his spell work one more time. At this point since he still hadn’t found the right spell, he decided to give up. It was time to leave and hopefully salvage not only the rest of the night, but both of his and Tony’s moods. It really bothered him that they had not parted earlier in the afternoon with the normal affection they had been showing one another. He hoped Tony would forgive him. Part of him felt as if he were garbage for causing such disagreement.

Right as he was about to leave to go meet Tony, there was a knock on the door.

It was odd. If it were Tony, then he would have just come in. Stephen had not expected any guests, nor had he called down for any room service. He hadn’t told anyone except Wong where he was headed, and even then he had only told Wong that they were going to Concord. Not that the other sorcerer wasn’t very capable of a tracking spell, but Wong had pretty much left him alone these days when he wasn’t at the Sanctum. There was little reason for Wong to show up without trying to get in contact with him first.

When Stephen opened the door,  he found the innkeeper standing there in front of him with some tea. He was a very friendly looking man despite Tony’s suspicions that he may harbor more sinister intentions.

“Mr. Sanders.”

“It’s Doctor actually.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw the man roll his eyes, but he couldn't be sure. It was a peculiar action.

“Your partner asked me to come up and give you this.”

Stephen cocked his head to the side slightly, as it seemed highly unlikely Tony would ever order tea for either of them. Tony didn’t drink tea, and although he was aware that Stephen drank tea, Tony would not have ordered or requested any kind of room service for a place they had no intention of staying in.

Stephen tried to take it from the man’s grip, but the man held on tight, not letting go.

“No, let me do that,” the keep said, turning slightly away and putting it down on the vanity table.

Stephen watched as he poured out the tea into two cups, getting a bad feeling about the situation. It made no sense that he would be helping himself to a cup without even asking.

The actions of the man started to make Stephen a little nervous.

Not to be rude, just in case this man was only trying to be friendly, he took the cup with a soft ’thank you’. The black tea smelled faintly sweet. It smelled familiar, but he couldn’t place exactly why.

“You seem to like it here. It’s quaint and charming isn’t it?” The man asked.

“Yes, but I’m a bit tired. I hope you don’t mind if I ask you to leave.”

“Sure. Not a problem. Just a few questions though, if you don’t mind.”

Stephen felt his patience being tested, and he realized Tony had been right. He was becoming more and more certain there was something off about this man. The inn keeper’s countenance was something that he didn’t like, and he couldn’t place exactly why that was. Frankly he had to admit Tony had made the right call, and Stephen wanted to desperately leave at this point.

Putting his cup down on the tray, Stephen was going to put a stop to his questioning.

“Sorry.”

“How disappointing. I was hoping we could have a chat Stephen, after all it’s been a while.”

Studying the man’s face, it was completely unfamiliar. He was generic looking, like anyone he may pass on the street, but at the last thing he said, Stephen knew that they knew one another. It was disturbing that Stephen couldn’t place him. There was something familiar about the way he spoke.

“I think it’s best if you sit for this.’’

Stephen sat back down as the man suggested, something in his tone was not right.

“Who are you?”

“Time will reveal all. I know why you’ve come. You’re tracking down Karl Mordo. I had hoped that you would stay away after last time, yet here you are again. Time and time again, you press your luck, but now there is no one here to help you. You seem to have a knack of driving away others.”

Stephen stood and slowly backed up to the closet door where he had foolishly put his cloak in. Only the other man had anticipated this move, immobilizing him easily with a spell. Stephen was a little too slow to block it, too focused on retrieving his cloak. Cursing himself, he was frozen in his spot, only able to move his head.

“Are you a disciple of his?”

Furrowing his brow for a second while he glared, the man paced back and forth for a moment. Waving his hand as if he were dismissing something, Stephen watched as there was a shimmer and Karl stood in front of him. It was shocking. As far as he was aware, it was impossible to shape shift. How did Karl do it?

Nothing made sense to him even after this big reveal.

Karl seemed to notice his wide eyed surprise, and felt gracious enough to to offer an explanation, “I picked up a few things while I was away. Met an Asgardian who was more than willing to help.”

It was like Karl had read his mind, but he knew mind reading was definitely impossible even if he had been an Asgardian rather than just learning tricks from one.

Stephen closed his eyes, figuring Karl probably had met Loki, who had not taken kindly to Stephen the first and last time they had met. He was also the person that had helped Karl escape. After he had met Tony that night after Karl had escaped, Stephen had gone off and investigated for himself- quietly and discreetly. He had heard rumors from some of the guards at The Raft that they all had been overpowered by magic before Karl had escaped. They had assumed it had been Karl, but Stephen hadn’t been so sure.

Stephen felt sick to his stomach as things started to click into place for him. The reason why Karl had been taking other people’s life energies was clear; it was to make and store more magic to be able to do spells that were not possible for mere mortals. With the help from an Asgardian magic user, there were things that he would be able to do now that he would never have been able to do before, including shape shifting. It also was the reason why he was picking up traces of multiple signatures, each signature unique to the energy the person was taken from.

“Now, you see. If only you had left me be and not come back, I would have left you alone. Instead you chose to return with your lover? That’s what his is to you, isn’t he?”

“You don’t have to do this. There’s still time.”

It was painful; a rehashing of what had happened before.

“I have to finish what I started.”

“Fine. Take my magic and be done with it.”

“I don’t want your magic.”

Stephen had no idea what he was going on about. Karl had wanted his magic before, but now he had changed his mind? Maybe he wanted more than that, a piece of Stephen instead, much like his victims in the various hospitals. A great sense of dread came over him as he realized that this may be the end of former neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange the Master of the Mystic Arts at the New York Sanctum.

“Then what do you want?” Stephen asked, his mouth becoming dryer with every word.

As Karl tilted his head, preparing himself to answer, they were interrupted by a small sound. It was a very faint, almost inaudible sound, and Karl froze for a second. Moving to behind where the door would open, he conjured a spell that would keep Stephen quiet. Stephen couldn’t prevent it with his body frozen; his hands unable to conjure a defensive spell. Instead, he waited with bated breath to see what would happen.

Footsteps were only heard because of the creaky boards of the steps, and all Stephen could do was watch with wide eyes, silently begging the Vishanti that it wasn’t Tony. He hoped with all his might that Tony was in the Westin, taking a bath right now or enjoying some room service.

Then there was an eery silence that fell over the whole bed and breakfast before the door opened. No one came in, and Karl stood waiting patiently and stoically. His expression was unreadable and calm, and he must have believed he had the upper hand.

Stephen knew beyond a doubt that it was Tony. He also knew that Tony was not an idiot, but the situation still scared him more than it would with most other people. For he knew that despite all the cleverness and resourcefulness that Tony had, magic was something still unfamiliar to him. It was something that was wild card in this situation.

Minutes passed as they all stayed where they were. Stephen tried his best to undo some of the magic that bound him, but without the use of his hands or his mouth, it was impossible. He couldn’t even struggle against it; the spell was that powerful.

The thing he could count on was that Tony always had some special tech that he carried with him. Although Stephen knew he designed a lot of the Avenger’s gear, he did not expect the amount he would carry on his person at one time, and in that it was surprising.

As one of his inventions, mimicking an insect, crawled across the floor, they watched as it came closer to Karl. The sorcerer decided to step on it, and it crushed easily under his foot with a sound that made Stephen cringe, knowing the time and parts that probably went into making it. Then another came into the room, and out of irritation Karl did the same. Two, three more came into the room, and that was when Tony opened the door quick enough to knock Karl off balance.

Stephen didn’t know how he knew, but he seemed to know that Karl had been hiding close by it. It was possible he had more tech and could see everything. He hoped that was the case as it would give at least some advantage to the man.

If he had control of his muscles, Stephen would have cried out as everything unfolded, fast and messily. Even though he had seen both Tony and Karl in action at different times, the two of them fighting one another was still surprising. Karl recovered quickly, but Tony had one of his pulsing gadgets fire. It should have knocked Karl out, if it weren’t for the sorcerer's quick deflection spell. It didn’t take much for him to immobilize Tony, and he went to walk over to the man. Karl’s lip curled in a sneer, obviously displeased by the Avenger’s audacity to intrude upon their tête-à-tête.

Stephen closed his eyes for maybe ten seconds, not wanting to watch. Suddenly, he felt the spell that bound him release and he fell to the floor. Opening his eyes, he looked up and found the Karl was on the ground now, Tony underneath him, and Wong stood across from them. Sighing in relief before he scrambled to his feet, he pushed the sorcerer off of Tony. Tony seemed to have expected Wong, much to Stephen’s surprise.

Once again Karl had let his emotions get the best him; his irritation and utter contempt had eroded his need of self preservation. Another stupid mistake, but not unexpected.

In a way though Stephen was similar, having let his guard down in his obsessive hunt for the answer. The only thing that had saved him was the fact that Tony had not only come back, but had enough sense to contact Wong. Although he had no idea how Tony had managed that feat as they had only met a once or twice previously.

Pulling the shorter man to his feet, Stephen embraced Tony, trying not to let his emotions overflow. He only pulled away when he heard Wong vocalize his displeasure at having to control Karl alone. Karl was struggling against the magic, having become more powerful over the past few months and Wong would not be able to hold him alone for long.

Stephen helped Wong, conjuring the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak to reinforce Wong’s own spell.

“You got lucky this time, Stephen,” Wong warned him.

“Yea, well, I’m used to close calls by now thanks. Glad you could make it.”

“Now, what to do with this one?” Tony asked of the sorcerers.

Karl had been silenced sometime when Stephen had been released. Now they had him under a strong sleeping spell.

“We have a place for him in Kamar-Taj now,” Wong replied.

Stephen looked at Wong. This was the first he heard of it. He knew that Kamar-Taj was in the processes of being restored, but he had no idea to the extent. Although he had visited, he hadn’t paid much attention.

“What about his victims?” Stephen asked.

Wong was quiet, and it was understood that there would be absolutely no chance of  a reversal of their states. Stephen’s heart sank at the idea. No matter how many of his job duties became familiar, this kind of thing he would never get used to.

“Why did he do it in the first place? I mean, I know he wanted to create more magic, but,” Stephen asked trailing off.

Wong had known the man for a lot longer, and the last time they had fought, Wong had been the one to help clear up some of the things that Karl had said.

Frowning Wong answered reluctantly, “You have grown too strong for him to let you walk away. At least that’s what I believe. We won’t know until we get him to Kamar-Taj.”

It was something that was normally unsaid between them. Although the Vishanti had bestowed the title of Sorcerer Supreme on Wong for now, they both knew it was only because Stephen had not matured into a proper sorcerer at the time they lost the Ancient One. He lacked the experience and the education at the time, but now, there were very few that could debate he was the stronger sorcerer. Maybe it was for the best, as he knew would have never had time to meet Tony if he were the Sorcerer Supreme. He simply would not be in New York if he had been chosen.

Stephen turned and looked at Tony, giving him a sympathetic smile. Tony clasped him on the shoulder.

“See you after this is all done?” Tony asked.

“Yea.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Wong nod in Tony’s direction as Tony left. If Tony had not come, or if he had come alone, Stephen didn’t know where he would be, but he had a feeling that he would not be conscious at the moment.

“He’s a good man,” Wong remarked right before he made a portal for the both of them, “You could have found someone a lot worse. Don’t screw it up.”

“I know I’m incredibly lucky. I don’t deserve someone like him.”

Wong laughed, “That’s true.”

Wanting to clear the air after they hoisted Karl through the portal, Stephen turned to Wong as some of the other masters took Karl from them.

“You never really approved of Karl and me, did you? I mean you must have known.”

“Of course I knew, Stephen. I was not blind. And it wasn’t that I necessarily disapproved because of your position. It was that he had too much history, and you had no idea about it. It was doomed before it even started. It doesn’t matter now though. Only the future matters, but do I hope you learn from your past.”

Wong always had the ability to make him feel better and worse at the same time. Feeling a little guilty that he had brought it up, he didn’t press any further.

“Stephen,” Wong called out to him as he turned to leave.

He stopped, coming back.

“For what it’s worth, the Ancient One had her doubts about Karl’s ability to overcome his past long before you came to us. She knew a lot more than she let on, and there was a reason she encouraged both of you to form an attachment, even if it was only meant to be one of student and master... Sometimes the hardest lessons in life are the ones that hurt us in order to teach us something. I hope you remember that as each challenge arises.”

Standing, slightly surprised by the sudden offer of wisdom, Stephen nodded absentmindedly while thinking on it. Although Wong was not a man of many words, he had a presence when he did feel the need to say something. There was no denying it, especially after that speech.

After giving his goodbyes, Stephen quietly returned to the Sanctum. Part of him knew he should have called Tony right away and portaled off, but he didn’t. He felt a bit numb about what had just taken place. He was still also pondering what Wong had said. It had given him a lot of food for thought.

For a good few hours he thought about the events of the day, trying to put the pieces in order to figure out what exactly in the hell happened. Guilt wracked him as he thought about the danger he had put Tony in by dragging him around while he worked. At the same time he knew that if he hadn’t done it, he would have not been in as good of a condition as he was currently in.

After about an hour of debating with himself, his heart eventually won out over his nerves and he gave Tony a call. He hoped to the powers that be that Tony would pick up and he would be okay. He hoped that everything would be okay.


	9. The Resolution

After the mess in Concord, Tony drove back to New York thinking about what he wanted and where he was going with his sorcerer boyfriend. The reality of what Stephen did was really driven home for him, and Tony thought about how much he actually wanted to deal with it. It was something that he had thought about lightly before, but never really as deeply as he should have. It had been a fun little quirk to the man until he needed to be saved.

It had been such a good last few months, and his heart had soared to heights that he didn’t think we're possible again. Stephen made him feel alive, but he had forgotten the old adage that for every action there would always be an equal and opposite reaction. Right now that high was completely gone.

Being with Stephen seemed more dangerous than all of his previous relationship, even if he knew that it was not the truth. Although he hadn’t really been in too much danger, Tony had known that the both of them had gotten in over their head. Had he not been able to contact Wong, they or at least Stephen would have been in even bigger trouble.

Arriving back at the compound he was overwhelmed by people as he entered the doors. Taking a deep breath in and out, he fixed his eyes upon the two culprits of whatever problem was currently happening: Peter and Carol. It was going to end right here and right now, or else. If there was one thing that was going to go his way today, it was going to be this.

“If you two can’t figure out whatever is going on in the next 48 hours, I’m going to pull this project and send all of you home. I’m tired and I want to rest. I expect this is to be resolved, or for either of you or even both of you to be moved out in three days. That is my final decision.”

All of them gathered around looking at Tony in surprise, including Rhodey and Sam. The two men had come in for the weekend at Tony’s request, but it seemed to only have exacerbated the issue.

No one had expected Tony’s reaction, but none of them had been through what he had gone through. To be honest, part of him laughed when he compared the absurdity of the situation in front of him and what he had went through earlier. Because even though he was positive that Wong didn’t really like him, he at least had enough sense to put aside any of his dislike to cooperate. It irritated him even more to come back to such a scene at the compound, as he was sure they were bickering over nothing.

Sometimes he wished that they would just grow up. The kids had no idea how good they had it, and Tony went off to his own part of the building.

For a few minutes he was alone, but not for long as Rhodey came to find him. He would have been be very happy to entertain and see Rhodey if it were a normal day. Sadly it was not a normally day, and he was not in the mood to host. Sensing that Rhodey would want to talk, he fled without a word to his workshop. Thankfully they knew each other well enough that Rhodey would have taken the hint that Tony was not in a mood to chat at the moment.

After a few hours alone to relax and chill out, he felt like an ass and sought Rhodey out to apologize for his earlier brush of the shoulder.

As they were inside his apartment, sharing a drink, he felt a little more generous when it came to sharing his feelings. The drink had taken the edge off and helped Tony loosen his tongue a little more. It had been an awfully long time since he had had one.

“Spill. Is it trouble in paradise?”

“Could have died today,” Tony blurted out. “Not the first time in my life, but this time I wasn’t playing on equal ground.”

Frustration spilled over.

“Woah. Wait. I thought you went to Concord? What the hell happened Tony?”

Tony shook his head, sighing before he began to speak again, “The ex from hell is what happened.”

He laughed bitterly as Rhodey looked on, surprised by Tony’s statement. He could figure it out somewhat, knowing a little about Stephen’s background. Tony had told him a few things here and there during the last few weeks.

“I hate magic,” Tony gritted out, “It’s scary. Technology has only a finite amount of possibilities, but magic is…”

 _Organic_ \- He thought of Stephen’s words from long ago. It wasn’t logical.

“Magic is something else, but you knew that Tony. This isn't your first or last encounter with magic. You knew that he was a sorcerer, too.”

Tony nodded. He had known that, but not really. It was different as well. All those other times he had been the one to make those decisions and put himself in harm's way. With Loki or with Wanda, it was him on a mission. This time he had been caught off guard in a way that was not normal. For a moment, he wondered if Stephen clouded his judgement.

“I knew. I did know, but not like this.”

As he thought about what had happened to that woman in the hospital, and the look in the other sorcerer's eyes as he stood over Tony. It was something that made him feel absolutely powerless, more so than he had felt with with many other foes he had faced. It was almost like he was facing Thanos once again.

“What happened Tony? I haven’t seen you shaken this badly in a long time.”

Tony told him all that had happened, the good, the bad, and the ugly parts. He even spilled about their argument and wasted time driving around Massachusetts.

“I warned you he’s bad news.”

The funny thing was that the man at the bed and breakfast said something similar. He had forgotten about that man, as he had been too shaken from his experience to fully register everything that had been going on. He hope the man was okay, and that they hadn’t gotten him hurt in the process.

He sighed and Rhodey looked at him.

“You love him. I know you Tony. I know what you’re thinking. You’re scared, but you still won’t abandoned your chance at happiness if you truly think there is a chance. I should call you an idiot, but I’m not going to today. At least not until later on.”

Tony nodded. He was right. He had been scared, and it had shaken him quite a bit, but he wasn’t about to throw it all away. There were things that he would need to do, and Stephen and him needed to have a long, frank conversation about how to proceed in the future.

It would not be comfortable, as this would be their first true heart to heart as to where they were heading. Even their slight disagreement from earlier in the day was nothing compared to what awaited them, and Tony knew that the honeymoon period was over as of this moment.

All good things came to an end.

Yet when Stephen called him that night, he picked up wanting to hear Stephen’s voice and the visceral need to touch the man was very real. Part of him needed to physically feel they were both alive.

It was complicated and he was emotionally tired from the day's events.

He told Stephen he needed to rest; his heart a little too weary, and although Stephen sounded saddened by this, he agreed. Tony added that they should meet the next day to which Stephen responded that he would be there.

Still when he saw Stephen the next day, sheepish and subdued, a lot of his negative feelings that had boiled in the pit of his stomach overnight seemed to slowly dissipate with each step he took, leaving that familiar pang of affection to bubble up to the forefront. Yet the gnawing reminder of how unprepared they had been for what had happened kept Tony from utterly forgetting about what had happened.

Looking into Stephen’s odd, almost jewel colored eyes with their odd mixture of greens and blues, he sighed, unable to smile.

“What happened the other day was not something that should have happened,” Tony began.

Stephen took a deep breath, obviously expecting the conversation.

“Yes. It shouldn't have. I understand that, but if you hadn’t been there...” Stephen trailed off, not wanting to say the words.

“You would have never been put in such a position if you hadn’t been distracted by us. By trying to mix work and your free time. I get it. I get it more than most, but… Sometimes I forget you're a bit younger and less experienced than me in these kinds of things. I thought it doesn’t really matter, but obviously I was wrong. There are things you have to learn and things that I need to relearn.”

It would have sounded condescending if his tone was just slightly different, or if they hadn’t know each other for a while.

Stephen nodded in agreement, as if he expected it. Some part of Tony ceased up in fear to his response. If he had shot back, or started scolding Tony, he wouldn’t feel so bad about having said it.

“So do you want to leave this here?”

Tony hesitated to answer out of surprise, shocked that _that_ was the answer he had received. Stephen’s thoughts had jumped to immediately dissolving whatever it was they had between them.

“I love you, Stephen. I don’t know why you would think that.”

Tony knew he sounded disappointed, and it was because he was disappointed. He couldn’t believe Stephen had such thin skin, or that Stephen believed that Tony would just throw everything away in a heartbeat. Did he really come off as that kind of person?

“Isn’t it the way of things? It hasn’t even been a year. Why would you waste your time on someone who endangers your life?”

“Did you want to endanger my life? These things happen in our business, but my first reaction of some complication to our relationship isn't to end it. You didn’t attack me, or set me up.”

Stephen sighed, running a gloved hand through his hair, before putting his head in his hands. It was quite the sight, as he almost seemed overwhelmed by it all. Now it was Stephen’s turn to pause as he considered it.

“You’re just used to giving up and ending it, aren’t you?” Tony asked.

“Like I've said before, normally things never made it to this point.”

Things were clicking a little more, as Tony remembered how superficial his relationships had been before Pepper. God, she had saved him in so many ways, reformed him. Part of him wondered if she always felt like this, a little scared and frustrated by just trying to work things out. It didn’t take a genius to see that it had been the reason they always seemed to wind up clashing on these things.

The difference this time though was that tempers weren’t flaring here. There was a layer of insecurity to the man that hid beneath all of his bravado.

Tony shook his head in disappointment before continuing, ”Stephen, I can wait, but I also don’t want to be shoved into your schedule like a doctor schedules patients. If you need my help, then you can call, but if you need a few weeks or months to yourself for what you do that’s fine too. Like I said, I’ve been there.”

For a second Tony paused. God, everything was a mess, and he wondering if this was going to be possible.

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere is what I mean,” He added to fully reinforce his intentions.

Stephen looked at him with emotion brimming in his eyes, but his face was still tense and looked guilty.

“I didn’t think I was endangering you in Concord. If I had known that it was a trap, then I would have of course not asked you to come along.”

Tony laughed. Had he known it was a trap… How could he have known that? Even though Tony thought the whole thing odd, he also couldn’t have imaged how the day had played out. He was also embarrassed that he hadn’t known what was awaiting him.

“That man at the reception, he knew about it didn’t he? That’s why I had a bad feeling about it all” Tony asked softly, realizing that was why the man tried to warn him off in the first place.

Stephen looked surprised.

“Right, you didn’t see. Karl had taken the man’s form to use. Learned the spell from Loki.”

Tony rolled his eyes, of course. Another twist in the story, and he wasn’t surprised Loki had his hand in something when it came to Tony getting screwed over by magic.  For some reason, Tony was starting to feel a little better about it now they were truly talking. Stephen continued to fill him in on some other parts, things that he had found out later from Wong and what had happened to the other sorcerer. Stephen told him that his magic was to be removed as decided by various councilers of different mystical arts centers. The man had been deemed too dangerous to let him continue to live his life as a sorcerer. Whatever would happen after, Tony had no idea as Stephen stopped telling his story.

There was something wrong with Stephen after he said that, as if he didn’t fully agree, but Tony thought it was only right and that the perpetrator probably deserved more than what he got. Those people in the hospital would never wake, and from what Stephen had told him, Tony had a feeling that some of them would not live long in the state they were in.

“Are you going to be okay?” Tony asked.

“I should be asking you that.”

“I’m looking forward to moving on from this. As long as you keep me in the loop with things and try to separate work from our relationship, it should be okay.”

Stephen nodded. Tony came closer to him, looking at him seriously before smiling softly. There was a hint of fear in his face. It reminded him of all those years ago when Tony was dealing with his anxiety and even the slightest things would set him off. He didn't think that Stephen was dealing with anxiety, but unlike the first time they met, his emotions were wrapped all up in this problem. Now that the problem was solved, only emotions were left. Since Tony was not emotionally invested in what had happened beyond caring about Stephen, it was easier to take a more objective view of things.

Tony cupped Stephen’s face in his hands. A tinge of pink bloomed across his cheeks, something that Tony found attractive even in their moment of raw honesty. It was too delicious, and he couldn't help but run his thumbs over those sharp cheekbones in response.

“I am truly sorry for what I have put you through. I don’t deserve someone like you.”

“This is true. I am pretty awesome. You’re extremely lucky to have such a caring, empathetic, amazing boyfriend like myself.”

Stephen chuckled at his boast, and it made Tony smile.

Pressing his mouth against Stephen’s, he knew it would take some more time to figure out one another enough so that they could establish a good routine. But he like the sucker he was, he wasn’t about to quit on the man at this early on in the relationship.

He had a feeling Stephen felt similarly.

 

 

 

 

 

.oOo. Epilogue .oOo.

 

“I have no idea what you are talking about. Wong loves me.”

Stephen glared at him for a fraction of a second.

“Wong doesn’t love any of us. He tolerates you and only likes me on days he’s feeling generous.”

They watched as a few of the sorcerers got some actual practice in defensive techniques. The New Avengers had yet to build themselves up to trying to defend themselves against magic. With all of Tony’s protest of keeping their lives separate, it had been surprising that he was the one to come up with this idea, completely bypassing Stephen and going straight to Wong. Wong, who along with many others at Kamar-Taj often disliked the idea of entangling themselves with the Avengers, eventually warmed up to the suggestion that the students of Kamar-Taj would get some actual practice with other kinds of more physical threats before encountering them in their lives as sorcerers. It was a new age where physical and mystical threats were not as clear cut as before. They couldn’t afford to sequester themselves away.

It was surprising how well everyone had been working together, and Tony even told him that it had built a sense of comradery amongst the younger ones he was training.

Tony spoke up after a moment, “I don’t know what reality you are living in. Here. Look.”

Tony shoved his phone at Stephen, opened up to a chat room filled with messages. Looking over them, they were all related to what they were doing now with some of the training. None of them established any kind of friendship or relationship beyond a cordial one. At least with Stephen, Wong and him occasionally enjoyed listening to music together, or reminiscing on stupid things that had happened over the past couple of years. This was not even close to that kind of relationship.

Stephen sighed heavily.

“What’s wrong magic man? Jealous I’ve stolen your bestie from you?” Tony teased.

He wasn’t going to answer that, as it was definitely not worth responding to Tony’s goading and teasing. By this point, he had gotten used to how Tony tried to manipulate him into reacting. Key word being tried.

He couldn't help but smile wide at the other man.

They both watched the trainees in silence for a few minutes. There was a certain rhythm to it, and Stephen couldn’t help but laugh at some of the New Avengers. They were definitely not similar to the older team that he had first met those few years ago.

As he chuckled, Tony turned to look at him, smiling after locking eyes with Stephen.

Things felt wonderful and despite any difficulties they had or would have, everything felt comfortable for the first time in a very long time. Looking at Tony, he knew Tony felt the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your support while I have been posting this fic. I know it’s been quite a wait over these past two months. Don't worry, I will be writing some more Iron Strange in the future.  
> In the meantime you can check out my other Iron Strange fic Waltzing Across Debris at:  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/10852479  
> , or check out some of my other Doctor Strange oriented fic. ^_^

**Author's Note:**

> Most of this story is written, so each part should be up within a week of the last (I am always working on a few different things) ♡ Comments and Kudos are always appreciated.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [【授翻】【铁奇异】互补色](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16505522) by [Amairingo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amairingo/pseuds/Amairingo)




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